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

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

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

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 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.

People have to be reminded that unions played a very historic role in our economy.

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