Ms. Pressley submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Federal job guarantee.
(1) it is the duty of the Federal Government to create a Federal job guarantee—
(A) to finally eliminate the moral and economic scourge of involuntary unemployment;
(B) to establish a true full employment society, in which anyone who wants to undertake paid work in the service of the community and the environment has ample opportunities to do so;
(C) to collectively achieve the greatest possible level of socially and ecologically sustainable prosperity, and share the fruits of that prosperity equitably among all people;
(D) to empower the working class by offering every worker, regardless of his or her background, capacity, or status, the opportunity to earn a fair, living wage, and to organize with fellow workers to advocate for common interests;
(E) to ensure every person in the United States has genuine and meaningful opportunities for education, training, career advancement, and choice with respect to workforce participation;
119th Congress
H.Res.1554
Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Federal job guarantee.
Ms. Pressley submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Federal job guarantee.
(1) it is the duty of the Federal Government to create a Federal job guarantee—
(A) to finally eliminate the moral and economic scourge of involuntary unemployment;
(B) to establish a true full employment society, in which anyone who wants to undertake paid work in the service of the community and the environment has ample opportunities to do so;
(C) to collectively achieve the greatest possible level of socially and ecologically sustainable prosperity, and share the fruits of that prosperity equitably among all people;
(D) to empower the working class by offering every worker, regardless of his or her background, capacity, or status, the opportunity to earn a fair, living wage, and to organize with fellow workers to advocate for common interests;
(E) to ensure every person in the United States has genuine and meaningful opportunities for education, training, career advancement, and choice with respect to workforce participation;
(F) to update and expand our understanding of socially necessary or useful work to include historically underrecognized and uncompensated labor, including domestic and social care, ecological preservation, and cultural, scientific, and creative work;
(G) to promote justice and equity by stopping current, preventing future, and repairing historic oppression and discrimination of indigenous peoples, communities of color, migrant communities, deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities, and youth (referred to in this resolution as “frontline and vulnerable communities”);
(H) to complete the unfinished legacy of the civil rights movement and the New Deal, and meet the contemporary challenges posed by the climate crisis identified in the Green New Deal resolution; and
(I) to meet the broader social and economic challenges of the 21st century through appropriate public investment, socially coordinated planning, and industrial cooperation;
(2) the goals described in subparagraphs (A) through (I) of paragraph (1) (the “job guarantee goals”) should be accomplished through an immediate national mobilization—
(A) to establish and honor a legally enforceable right to fair, dignified, and decently remunerated employment for all eligible individuals living in the United States (hereafter the “right to employment”);
(B) to establish and honor a bill of workers’ rights, as a complement to the right to employment, that addresses issues related to worker exploitation, discrimination, harassment, compensation, privacy, autonomy, choice of employment, working conditions, the right to organize and collectively bargain, suitable accommodation for people with disabilities, protection and expansion of existing safety net programs, and other related concerns (hereafter the “Workers’ Bill of Rights”);
(C) to establish, implement, and administer a comprehensive and diverse range of socially necessary and useful public projects, reflective of community and regional needs, including direct public job creation programs, and to support related education, training, credentialing, and career development programs, to ensure workers enjoy meaningful choice and appropriate opportunities for growth and advancement in their chosen area of employment (hereafter the “enabling programs”);
(D) to design and implement the right to employment, Workers’ Bill of Rights, and enabling programs through transparent and inclusive consultation, collaboration, and partnership with frontline and vulnerable communities, labor unions, worker cooperatives, civil society groups, State and local governments, academia, and businesses;
(E) to take ecological and equitable concerns into consideration when designing and implementing the right to employment, Workers’ Bill of Rights, and enabling programs, as well as any other related infrastructural and administrative institutions and procedures;
(F) to take any and all necessary steps to ensure, wherever possible, that all people benefit from the collective prosperity resulting from the establishment of the right to employment, Workers’ Bill of Rights, and enabling programs; and
(G) to adequately and appropriately fund these efforts on a permanent, nondiscretionary basis, using Congress’ power of the purse, through a combination of Federal support to local and State governments, and various direct Federal grant and investment programs;
(3) the national mobilization toward a Federal job guarantee would include projects that—
(A) strengthen communities, retool our economy, achieve inclusive prosperity, and leave no one behind;
(B) address national priorities as well as those put forward by local governments and community organizations, with the participation of communities impacted by structural racism, oppression, and disinvestment in the selection of projects;
(C) create net new jobs, without displacing existing public sector workers; and
(D) prioritize racial equity and environmental sustainability, including but not limited to ensuring a just transition for workers and frontline communities currently involved in unsustainable industries;
(4) job guarantee workers would be employed in a range of ways, including but not limited to—
(A) ensuring the delivery of high-quality, professional care to children, seniors, and others in need of long-term support in family based, informal, and formal settings;
(B) augmenting the staffing of public education and early childhood learning, including Head Start and preschool;
(C) strengthening public afterschool programs, libraries, and recreational programs to provide lifelong learning and enrichment for people of all ages;
(D) implementing community infrastructure and improvement projects that revitalize neighborhoods, including vacant and abandoned property cleanup, street and sidewalk repair, remodeling and modernization of schools and other public community-serving facilities, and maintenance and renovation of parks, playgrounds, and public spaces;
(E) expanding emergency preparedness, and relief and recovery from natural and community disasters, including public health, natural disasters, and environmental emergencies;
(F) producing works of public art and documentation of United States history akin to the Works Project Administration’s Federal Art Project;
(G) implementing environmental conservation, remediation, and sustainability initiatives, increasing the energy efficiency of buildings and our housing stock to address climate change, and building climate resistance through programs such as the Civilian Climate Corps;
(H) rehabilitating and retrofitting our existing affordable housing stock to ensure safe, affordable, quality, energy-efficient homes, and supporting the development of new affordable housing and social housing to address the Nation’s housing crisis;
(I) producing creative, scientific, artistic, or cultural works, which would then be made open and available for public use; and
(J) supporting other projects that address public needs and can be implemented quickly;
(5) job guarantee jobs would pay no less than $25 per hour, adjusted on a regular basis to ensure a rising standard of living, and would not replace any existing safety net programs or benefits, including unemployment insurance;
(6) job guarantee jobs would also offer benefits, including—
(A) health insurance consistent with that provided to existing Federal Government employees;
(B) paid sick days and family leave;
(C) retirement benefits; and
(D) paid vacation;
(7) job guarantee workers would—
(A) be able to join public sector unions and bargain collectively for better working conditions and compensation;
(B) be protected against discrimination and harassment by Federal labor laws;
(C) have their data protected and their privacy respected; and
(D) be empowered to develop lasting skills through on-the-job training, as well as paid apprenticeships, credentialing, and other career building opportunities;
(8) job guarantee work would—
(A) be made available—
(i) on a full-time and part-time basis for adult residents age 18 and over, depending on worker needs, including those with involvement in the criminal legal system;
(ii) on a part-time basis for young people ages 16 and 17;
(iii) for short- or long-term periods, depending on worker needs; and
(iv) to all people on a nondiscriminatory basis, including people with disabilities;
(B) include outreach and recruitment, conducted in multiple languages;
(C) provide workers and aspiring workers with support services, such as childcare and transportation assistance, and specific accommodations, as needed to access jobs and fulfill job responsibilities; and
(D) meaningfully expand our social safety net and would not replace any existing safety net programs or benefits, including unemployment insurance; and
(9) the job guarantee program would be administered by the Department of Labor and overseen by the Secretary of Labor in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, who would be responsible for dispersing funding, and in particular—
(A) the Secretary of Labor would direct Treasury funds to local employment offices to manage job guarantee projects and match job seekers to projects, as well as cover any related capital and administrative costs, with funds targeted during the initial 3-year startup period to areas of greatest employment need; and
(B) State, county, and local governments, as well as territories and Tribal Nations, would help administer the program, engaging residents in community assessments and participatory processes to identify job guarantee projects to go into a community job bank.
(F) to update and expand our understanding of socially necessary or useful work to include historically underrecognized and uncompensated labor, including domestic and social care, ecological preservation, and cultural, scientific, and creative work;
(G) to promote justice and equity by stopping current, preventing future, and repairing historic oppression and discrimination of indigenous peoples, communities of color, migrant communities, deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities, and youth (referred to in this resolution as “frontline and vulnerable communities”);
(H) to complete the unfinished legacy of the civil rights movement and the New Deal, and meet the contemporary challenges posed by the climate crisis identified in the Green New Deal resolution; and
(I) to meet the broader social and economic challenges of the 21st century through appropriate public investment, socially coordinated planning, and industrial cooperation;
(2) the goals described in subparagraphs (A) through (I) of paragraph (1) (the “job guarantee goals”) should be accomplished through an immediate national mobilization—
(A) to establish and honor a legally enforceable right to fair, dignified, and decently remunerated employment for all eligible individuals living in the United States (hereafter the “right to employment”);
(B) to establish and honor a bill of workers’ rights, as a complement to the right to employment, that addresses issues related to worker exploitation, discrimination, harassment, compensation, privacy, autonomy, choice of employment, working conditions, the right to organize and collectively bargain, suitable accommodation for people with disabilities, protection and expansion of existing safety net programs, and other related concerns (hereafter the “Workers’ Bill of Rights”);
(C) to establish, implement, and administer a comprehensive and diverse range of socially necessary and useful public projects, reflective of community and regional needs, including direct public job creation programs, and to support related education, training, credentialing, and career development programs, to ensure workers enjoy meaningful choice and appropriate opportunities for growth and advancement in their chosen area of employment (hereafter the “enabling programs”);
(D) to design and implement the right to employment, Workers’ Bill of Rights, and enabling programs through transparent and inclusive consultation, collaboration, and partnership with frontline and vulnerable communities, labor unions, worker cooperatives, civil society groups, State and local governments, academia, and businesses;
(E) to take ecological and equitable concerns into consideration when designing and implementing the right to employment, Workers’ Bill of Rights, and enabling programs, as well as any other related infrastructural and administrative institutions and procedures;
(F) to take any and all necessary steps to ensure, wherever possible, that all people benefit from the collective prosperity resulting from the establishment of the right to employment, Workers’ Bill of Rights, and enabling programs; and
(G) to adequately and appropriately fund these efforts on a permanent, nondiscretionary basis, using Congress’ power of the purse, through a combination of Federal support to local and State governments, and various direct Federal grant and investment programs;
(3) the national mobilization toward a Federal job guarantee would include projects that—
(A) strengthen communities, retool our economy, achieve inclusive prosperity, and leave no one behind;
(B) address national priorities as well as those put forward by local governments and community organizations, with the participation of communities impacted by structural racism, oppression, and disinvestment in the selection of projects;
(C) create net new jobs, without displacing existing public sector workers; and
(D) prioritize racial equity and environmental sustainability, including but not limited to ensuring a just transition for workers and frontline communities currently involved in unsustainable industries;
(4) job guarantee workers would be employed in a range of ways, including but not limited to—
(A) ensuring the delivery of high-quality, professional care to children, seniors, and others in need of long-term support in family based, informal, and formal settings;
(B) augmenting the staffing of public education and early childhood learning, including Head Start and preschool;
(C) strengthening public afterschool programs, libraries, and recreational programs to provide lifelong learning and enrichment for people of all ages;
(D) implementing community infrastructure and improvement projects that revitalize neighborhoods, including vacant and abandoned property cleanup, street and sidewalk repair, remodeling and modernization of schools and other public community-serving facilities, and maintenance and renovation of parks, playgrounds, and public spaces;
(E) expanding emergency preparedness, and relief and recovery from natural and community disasters, including public health, natural disasters, and environmental emergencies;
(F) producing works of public art and documentation of United States history akin to the Works Project Administration’s Federal Art Project;
(G) implementing environmental conservation, remediation, and sustainability initiatives, increasing the energy efficiency of buildings and our housing stock to address climate change, and building climate resistance through programs such as the Civilian Climate Corps;
(H) rehabilitating and retrofitting our existing affordable housing stock to ensure safe, affordable, quality, energy-efficient homes, and supporting the development of new affordable housing and social housing to address the Nation’s housing crisis;
(I) producing creative, scientific, artistic, or cultural works, which would then be made open and available for public use; and
(J) supporting other projects that address public needs and can be implemented quickly;
(5) job guarantee jobs would pay no less than $25 per hour, adjusted on a regular basis to ensure a rising standard of living, and would not replace any existing safety net programs or benefits, including unemployment insurance;
(6) job guarantee jobs would also offer benefits, including—
(A) health insurance consistent with that provided to existing Federal Government employees;
(B) paid sick days and family leave;
(C) retirement benefits; and
(D) paid vacation;
(7) job guarantee workers would—
(A) be able to join public sector unions and bargain collectively for better working conditions and compensation;
(B) be protected against discrimination and harassment by Federal labor laws;
(C) have their data protected and their privacy respected; and
(D) be empowered to develop lasting skills through on-the-job training, as well as paid apprenticeships, credentialing, and other career building opportunities;
(8) job guarantee work would—
(A) be made available—
(i) on a full-time and part-time basis for adult residents age 18 and over, depending on worker needs, including those with involvement in the criminal legal system;
(ii) on a part-time basis for young people ages 16 and 17;
(iii) for short- or long-term periods, depending on worker needs; and
(iv) to all people on a nondiscriminatory basis, including people with disabilities;
(B) include outreach and recruitment, conducted in multiple languages;
(C) provide workers and aspiring workers with support services, such as childcare and transportation assistance, and specific accommodations, as needed to access jobs and fulfill job responsibilities; and
(D) meaningfully expand our social safety net and would not replace any existing safety net programs or benefits, including unemployment insurance; and
(9) the job guarantee program would be administered by the Department of Labor and overseen by the Secretary of Labor in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, who would be responsible for dispersing funding, and in particular—
(A) the Secretary of Labor would direct Treasury funds to local employment offices to manage job guarantee projects and match job seekers to projects, as well as cover any related capital and administrative costs, with funds targeted during the initial 3-year startup period to areas of greatest employment need; and
(B) State, county, and local governments, as well as territories and Tribal Nations, would help administer the program, engaging residents in community assessments and participatory processes to identify job guarantee projects to go into a community job bank.
