- Pete Buttigieg’s new economic policy focuses on workers’ rights.
- The policy has a strong focus on unionizing workers.
- Buttigieg also wants to bring new voters to the Democratic party.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Pete Buttigieg revealed his economic policy on Friday.
Focusing On Workers’ Rights
Workers’ rights take the center stage with Buttigieg’s new economic policy. Large companies such as Uber, Lyft, and Google are the targets of this policy. Many of these large corporations label their employees as contractors. This means they will not receive employee benefits and no negotiation power. Buttigieg aims to stop this.
Buttigieg calls his plan “The New Rising Tide: Empowering Works in a Changing Economy.” First and foremost, Buttigieg wants to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. This is what a large majority of the other Democratic candidates want to do. But he does not stop there.
Buttigieg’s new policy will allow all workers the right to join a union. This includes workers who are considered to be independent contractors. Allowing workers to unionize gives them the opportunity to negotiate with companies they work for. If a company tries to interfere with unions, they will be hit with a multi-million dollar fine.
“I have nothing against these companies succeeding when workers are doing well, but they can’t have it both ways,” said Buttigieg to CNN.
On top of this, Buttigieg has a plan to implement a national sick pay. He would make employers pay one hour of sick pay for every 30 hours worked. This is for workers who do not receive at least seven paid sick days.
Bringing In New Voters
Protecting workers rights is definitely the aim of Buttigieg’s new economic plan. But he is also aiming to bring in new voters to the Democratic party. During the 2016 elections, President Trump had support from union workers. He gained support from steel and coal union workers in the Midwestern states. Buttigieg wants to bring in some of those voters to the Democratic party.
“I want workers to understand how their lives are better, how they will be better off with me or compared to this President, or our competitors and folks need to hear how this is going to impact their lives,” said Buttigieg.
Buttigieg is hoping by doing this, he will increase his election odds. Pete Buttigieg currently has +600 odds of becoming the Democratic nominee. On top of that, Buttigieg has +1200 of winning the 2020 elections. Buttigieg is a front runner and has already qualified for the September debates. Perhaps this economic plan will give the Mayor from South Bend an edge over the other frontrunners.