Tell your Members of Congress and President Biden: The Reconciliation Bill Must Incorporate Economic Justice!

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Call Script

For Senator Padilla and Senator Feinstein:

My name is __________. I am a constituent, and my zip code is _______. I am a member of Indivisible SF.

It’s time for Democrats to stand up for economic justice!

We want—we need—a reconciliation bill that fully incorporates President Biden’s original proposals, including these priorities:

The provisions from the PRO Act
The provisions from the THRIVE Act
A national $15/hour minimum wage

We also need provisions that authorize the CDC to issue and enforce common-sense orders and directives, such as eviction moratoriums, to slow the spread of infectious diseases during a national public health emergency.

To those ends, I support Speaker Pelosi’s commitment to delay a final House vote on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill until after the Senate passes and sends to the House a Reconciliation Bill that fully implements the Democratic Party’s climate, housing, child and family, education, health care, and tax justice agenda.

And if the parliamentarian recommends omitting any of the essential provisions, I urge you either to reject her opinion or to end or reform the filibuster rule so that the bill can be passed.

For President Biden, Speaker Pelosi and Representative Speier

My name is __________. I am a constituent, and my zip code is _______. I am a member of Indivisible SF.

It’s time for Democrats to stand up for economic justice!

We want—we need—a reconciliation bill that fully incorporates President Biden’s original proposals, including these priorities:

The provisions from the PRO Act
The provisions from the THRIVE Act
A national $15/hour minimum wage

And if the Senate parliamentarian recommends omitting any of the essential provisions, please urge your Democratic colleagues in the Senate either to reject her opinion or to end or reform the filibuster rule so that the bill can be passed.

Background

The Reconciliation bill is going to cover a wide range of issues. As is normally the case with such large and complex pieces of legislation, it will incorporate all or parts of bills that have been previously introduced and/or or bills that were passed in the House but blocked in the Senate by Republican filibusters. It will also incorporate proposals and ideas from congressional caucuses and interest groups. We want the Reconciliation Bill to include provisions from the following previous bills:

The PRO Act (Protect the Right to Organize Act). The PRO Act would roll back many of the federal and state anti-union, anti-worker-rights laws and court rulings that have steadily weakened and crippled unions for decades. In essence the PRO Act provides these protections:
- Revokes or limits state anti-union “right to work” laws
- Strengthens protections for fair unionization elections
- Limits/reforms unfair “gig economy” labor practices
- Imposes real penalties on employers found guilty of unfair labor practices
- Strengthens NLRB enforcement powers
- Prevents employers from coercing workers into waiving their rights
The THRIVE Act (Transform, Heal, and Renew by Investing in a Vibrant Economy Act). The THRIVE Act fosters economic justice in these ways:
- Aims to create well-paying jobs with benefits and worker protections
- Focuses on workers and communities impacted by the pandemic and the transition to clean energy
- Prioritizes investments, jobs, and benefits in front-line communities that have experienced systemic racism, environmental injustice, and economic exclusion
- Includes effective job-training and other programs for workers displaced by the pandemic or the transition to a green economy

National $15/hour minimum wage. On the campaign trail and early in his presidency, Biden called for a national $15/hour national minimum wage. But the Senate parliamentarian issued an opinion that a minimum wage provision did not meet the criteria for inclusion in a reconciliation bill. So far, Democrats seem unwilling to challenge her. Last April, President Biden issued an executive order mandating a $15/hour minimum wage for federal employees and contractors, but a national minimum wage increase for everyone else seems to have been left behind. Yet nothing would do more to lift Americans out of dire poverty than a national minimum wage of $15/hour, and we in Indivisible should continue fighting for it.