Austin has been successfully growing its economy and adding jobs at a steady, rapid rate. However, we have failed
to build housing commensurate with our job growth. As a result, the workers we are welcoming into the city and the working families we already have are forced to compete over a limited housing supply, driving those with less wealth out of their neighborhoods, away from their friend. The most important action I will accomplish as a council member, for the Labor movement, for the working class, for union households, for all, is to break down the barriers to building adequate housing that past councils have instituted and upheld. I will oversee the building of thousands of homes and ensure that they are affordable and accessible to the working class. There cannot be a Labor movement without laborers living in the City, and I will fight to ensure that all who wish to live and work in Austin are able to live and work in Austin, independent of income. I believe this universal approach will especially benefit the Labor movement.

Secondly, the City of Austin is one of the region’s largest employers and leads by example in how well it treats it
workers. The upcoming COA budget will institute a $15 an hour minimum wage for city employees and contractors.
Council is unable to pursue an increased minimum wage, but we can address income inequality and increase the
power of the Labor movement by providing child care to all city workers. We ask a lot of our working families, and
those who wish to have families but cannot due to the high societa and financial cost of having children. Providing
child care to all city workers will especially benefit working parents, allowing them the flexibility needed to pursue their careers and raise their families.