Senator Sanders Campaigns in Michigan, Chelsea in Minnesota

Senator Bernie Sanders campaigned on behalf of Hillary Clinton in Michigan today. His first event was held in Dearborn where he spoke to a crowd of supporters at the local UAW hall. During his speech, Sanders spoke about a number of Hillary’s platform points including her plan to create jobs and her support of labor unions. He also went after Donald Trump for avoiding to pay income taxes. Overall, however, Sanders offered a populist tone saying, “This campaign is not about Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton — it is about you and your families. We’re not voting for class president of our high school … we are fighting for the survival of the middle class.” A video from the event is below.

Sanders then traveled to Ann Arbor where he spoke to an enthusiastic crowd on the campus of the University of Michigan. During the event, Sanders spoke about the importance of voting, particularly young people, and urged them to get out and vote in November. He spoke about a number of Hillary’s platform points and specifically focused on her plans to reduce the cost of higher education. He said, “What she said is, I should tell the American people that in the first 100 days of her administration she will roll out a very specific plan to make public colleges and universities tuition free for all families earning less than $125,000 a year. And have an aggressive approach to reducing student debt.” Watch a video of Sanders’ speech below.

In Lansing, Sanders spoke to a crowd of students and supporters on the campus of Michigan State University. Sanders continued to speak about a number of Hillary’s platform points while going after Trump for his policies. Focusing on the economy and the struggle of the middle class, he said, “We have come a long way in fighting racism, sexism, homophobia. But today we have one huge struggle in front of us, and that is the economic struggle. And that means that we should not be living in a nation which has more wealth and income inequality than any other major country on earth.” A video of Sanders speech is below.

Sanders’ final event of the day was a rally in Grand Rapids. During the event, Sanders continued with his populist tone talking about the local economy and how a number Hillary’s proposals will be beneficial to the area. He spoke about raising the minimum wage and creating new good paying jobs in the area by reinvesting in manufacturing and clean energy. A video from the event will be posted when/if available.

Chelsea Clinton meanwhile was in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she spoke about Hillary’s plans to help mothers and families. During the event, Chelsea highlighted a number of Hillary’s platform points including her plans to cap the out of pocket costs of childcare, ensure that women are paid equally, raise the minimum wage, and create new jobs by investing in infrastructure and clean energy. Chelsea also spoke about the public perception of her mother saying, “I don’t understand the caricature of my mom. I wish more people could see the huggable, lovable, hilarious side of her that I see now when we are together, with my children, and that I have known my whole life.” Chelsea closed out the event by answering questions from those in attendance. A video from the event will be added when/if available.

In Los Angeles, California, a fundraiser was held on behalf of Hillary for America. The event featured a conversation with Senator Al Franken.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: Michigan Live, Fox 2, Lansing State Journal, CBS Minnesota, 9 & 10 News

Hillary Clinton Publishes Op-Ed About Being a Working Mother

First Lady of Arkansas Hillary Rodham Clinton with her daughter Chelsea, 13th May 1984. (Photo by Mike Stewart/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)

Today, an op-ed by Hillary Clinton was published by Fortune magazine. In the article, Clinton discusses what she learned from being a working mother. She writes about how she had to struggle her career as a lawyer and raising her daughter. She goes to say that while progress has been made, more needs to be done. Clinton then outlines a number of her proposals aimed at helping working and single mothers including raising the minimum wage, ensuring that women receive equal pay, ensuring everyone has access to affordable childcare, and providing paid leave for new parents. Read the full op-ed below or on Fortune.

Hillary Clinton: What I Learned From Being a Mom Who Works
September 29, 2016

We’ve made progress, but have a ways to go.

When I was pregnant with my daughter Chelsea, I asked about the maternity leave policy at the law firm where I worked. I was surprised to find out that we didn’t have one. I soon learned why: No woman who worked in our office had ever come back to work full-time after having a baby.

Well, I wanted to come back. I loved what I did. And it was important to me to contribute to my family’s finances, especially now that we were having a baby.

Finally, as my due date approached, I decided to take matters into my own hands. When Chelsea was born, my employer agreed to grant me four months off to be home with her. I’d still earn an income, though it would be smaller; part of my income was determined by the fees I generated for the firm, which would fall to zero while I was on leave. That made sense to me. And it meant a lot that I could have that time with my new daughter, knowing that my job would be waiting for me when I came back.

These kinds of situations are commonplace today, with more women entering the workforce than ever before. Today, nearly half of all full-time employees are women. Through our contributions, talent, insights, and very presence, we’ve changed the workplace forever. There’s no going back to the days when women were fired for getting married or pregnant, or were excluded from entire professions. Thank goodness.

But let’s be real. We still have a long way to go. Our policies just haven’t kept up with the challenges women and families face today.

Too many women still aren’t paid fairly. On average, women earn 20% less than men do for full-time, year-round work. Women of color earn even less. And when a working mom or grandmother earns less than she deserves, she’s not the only one who pays the price. Her children or grandchildren—whoever’s counting on her salary—do, too.

Women also make up the majority of minimum-wage workers, which means they make as little as $14,500 a year for full-time work. That’s below the national poverty line. Many of those women are raising kids on that income. Raising the federal minimum wage would do a lot for those families.

Meanwhile, even though the number of women running companies, labs, universities, and philanthropies is growing, it’s still too small. So is the number of women serving in elected office. That means women aren’t always included in decision-making, and their needs and concerns aren’t always reflected in government policy or workplace norms.

And we’re making it too hard to balance work and family. That’s true for all parents, but especially mothers. Women are breadwinners in more households than ever, yet they still do the lion’s share of childcare.

Many are feeling the squeeze. I’ve had moms break down in tears as they describe the heartbreak of returning to work just a few days after delivering their baby, because they don’t have paid leave at their jobs. Staying with their child for a few months would mean losing too many paychecks, maybe even their job.

In April, I met a mom in Newton, Iowa, who held her four-and-a-half-month-old in her arms. She said to me, “I’m counting on you to know what it’s like to be a working mother. Please help us working mothers and fathers have more time with our babies.”

I’m not going to let her down.

One thing we can do is invest in affordable childcare. Right now, childcare is more expensive than college tuition in many states. Let’s make sure no family has to spend more than 10% of their income on childcare by making historic investments in childcare assistance and providing tax relief to working families.

Let’s finally join every other advanced economy in the world and guarantee paid leave. I’m proposing 12 weeks of paid medical leave to recover from a serious illness, and 12 weeks of paid family leave to care for a new child or a sick relative. After all, moms and dads both deserve to spend time with their babies.

Let’s encourage employers to adopt family-friendly work policies, like flexible and fair scheduling and tele-work, so parents can both work and be there for their families.

Let’s raise the minimum wage. No one who works full-time should be forced to raise their kids in poverty.

And at long last, let’s finally ensure equal pay for women. It’s time for Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act—which I cosponsored when I was in the Senate—to give women the tools they need to fight discrimination in the workforce. We also need to promote pay transparency so that women have the information they need to negotiate fairly for their wages.

These aren’t just women’s issues. They’re economic issues and family issues. And they need to be a top priority for our next president. If we’re going to build a globally competitive workforce, we can’t afford to leave any talent on the sidelines. We can’t keep short-changing working families.

I’ll never forget what it was like to be a mom at work. It wasn’t easy. And I was lucky: I had financial security, a supportive employer, and affordable childcare. Too many families don’t. I’ve met so many parents stuck in impossible situations, at their wits’ ends trying to make it all work. It just shouldn’t be this hard to work and have a family.

As president, it’ll be my mission to bring our economy and workplaces into the 21st century, so all of our contributions are respected—both women’s and men’s—and families can thrive.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: Fortune