We cannot deny that people are suffering, and they are making that suffering known at the ballot box.

For the workers and their families, being able to bring home a living wage helps their families and, by extension, helps our economy. Seventy percent of our economy is consumer-based. We know that when lower- and middle-class families have money and disposable income, they spend it. That puts money back into the economy. It's a win-win for everybody: Not just for the individual, not just production at a specific company (like Nissan), but for the greater good.

Labor unions have a long history of benefitting all workers, even those who are not members of unions, because everyone's wages go up. If we don't increase membership - and membership in labor unions is going down because of the attacks against organized labor - it's something every single American, whether they're officially in a union or not, should be concerned about. It's a spiral. It's a weakening of the middle class and our economy can't sustain that.

My hope for America and the activists is that they never, ever go back to sleep, and they keep fighting for social justice, equality, and decency.

I would love to see more investment to help our veterans. Donald Trump is talking about investing in the military - I imagine he wants to invest on the war side, but what we really need is to take care of our veterans, and invest in the VA hospitals, provide better mental health treatment, and help them find housing. That is a stain on America for all of us - Republican and Democrat.

Workers should have a right to sit across from management to collectively bargain about their work conditions, their wages, and the future direction of the company. To me, that's just a humane thing to do. It is unacceptable in the 21st century to have companies not want to do that with their employees and create a great work environment.

The Rust Belt has suffered a lot because of trade deals.