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Democrats ignored pleas to address price of ‘eggs and gas’, campaigners say | Business


SAru Jayaraman tried. Back in January, the president of the low-wage campaign One Fair Wage recalled the story Democratic leaders in Washington, D.C., that voters are worried about the cost of living.

“It was just deafening,” she said. “One of the biggest challenges we faced was that they kept wanting to talk about the economy. And we kept repeating that it was not about on economy, it’s about ours economy: it’s about mine economy, mine the ability to pay for eggs and gas.

“So it wasn’t a surprise to us that people didn’t show up, why didn’t people feel incredibly motivated — whether they didn’t vote, or voted for Kamala, or voted for Trump,” said Jayaraman, director of the Food Research Center for thesis at the University of California, Berkeley. “There was a universal feeling of ‘you’re not listening to us’.”

A single mother working three jobs as a waitress and struggling to make ends meet on sub-minimum wage, “is not going to take time out of her three jobs to vote for any person,” she added. “There is no future for the party unless it really responds to the needs of working people. And I use the word “address.” It’s not just about the issue.”

Democrats are facing calls to action

Sam Taub has worked as a server for the past 10 years in Michigan, one of the key states in the election that swung by joe biden in 2020 to Donald Trump in 2024. Taub wasn’t as surprised by this year’s result.

“You see a lot of generalizations about people who live in the Midwest, people who are working class and people who are working class in the Midwest,” he said. “And as someone who is one of those people, it’s a little frustrating to hear people say they’re listening to you — and then not actually listen to you.

“The message that democrats they really need to understand that they cannot assume that they already know what people think and what they need.”

Protesters gather during a rally outside the National Restaurant Association trade show to call on the business association to lobby for loosening child labor regulations on May 22 in Chicago, Illinois. Photo: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for a fair wage

Taub is one of hundreds of service workers who endorsed an open letter organized by One Fair Wage after the 2024 election results, calling on the Democratic Party to do more to address the needs of working people.

State Democrats must fight to further protect workers’ rights in light of the upcoming second the Trump administrationhe claims, and I push back against industry efforts to reduce or prevent policies such as raising the sub-minimum wage for Michigan servers, effective date.

“It’s pretty obvious Donald Trump won’t protect workers’ rights, so it’s really important for policymakers at the state level to do everything they can to protect workers,” Taub said. “By getting rid of the sub-minimum wage, which is something that happens gradually, we can help a lot of people.”

Juan Carlos Romero, a bartender in New York City, has been in the restaurant business for 16 years. “It’s really hard trying to make ends meet” in this economy, he said.

Service workers won’t see improvements under Trump, he suggested, arguing that the incoming administration’s proposals — such as eliminating tip taxes — ignore the underlying problem that so many service workers are in economic limbo because they rely on tips and sub-minimum hourly wages.

Democrats should use the final weeks before Trump takes office “to support us,” he added. “I think our desperation comes from the reality that we see, and especially if wages stay like this, [that] they will continue to influence people daily. So this is really a call to action that people in the industry desperately need.”

Recession fears

Activists and academics fear that the Democratic Party losing its majority in the White House and Senate and failing to regain its majority in the House of Representatives will leave lower-income workers — especially immigrants — vulnerable.

“One of the consequences of this election is that the government is backing away from having people’s backs when they want to join a union,” said Sharon Block, executive director of the Center for Labor and a Fair Economy at Harvard Law School. “There’s a great irony to that that I think is just devastating: This is a time when people need to be united more than ever.”

There are already deportation plans targeting undocumented and temporary workers causing fear among these workers. Immigrant groups are pushing Biden will strengthen immigrant protections before he leaves office in January.

“I think the anti-immigrant fervor of Trump and his aides is appalling and anti-human,” said Judy Conti, director of government affairs at the National Labor Law Project. “And I think immigrant workers everywhere have reason to be concerned about discrimination, potential violence, assault in the workplace.”

Trump’s proposed tariffs and the impact they could have on the cost of basic and essential goods are also a cause for concern.

“If they are not talking about raising wages, which is not the case, but they are talking about all the goods and services we need for our daily lives becoming 20% ​​more expensive,” Conti warned. “I have fears about a recession, and I certainly fear that things will be less affordable for the people who can’t afford it the most.”

Democrats still in office across the country face calls to help such people when Trump reaches the White House. “Even if you fail,” One letter about fair pay said, “at least we’ll see you fight once.”

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