My father was a member of the Teamsters Union in California, where he helped to organize better health care for workers. My mother worked for more than 20 years on an assembly line.

In my teens, I worked as an aide in my community supervising and mentoring youth in various programs and delivering lunches to needy students.

No one has the right to threaten the health, education, and well-being of children by involving them in illegal or inappropriate work.

No family should have to depend on the labor of its children to put food on the table and no person should be forced to work in captivity.

My niece was a sexual-assault victim. My sister is a survivor of domestic violence. We have more shelters for animals than for battered women. That's not the message we should be sending.

My parents raised me and my six siblings with little money... but lots of love.

My father was a member of the Teamsters Union in California, where he helped to organize better health care for workers. My mother worked for more than 20 years on an assembly line.