What happens to women happens to the entire nation. People work hard. But when you're working long hours, you don't get to spend time with your kids, you don't get a chance to take a vacation every now and then, you don't get a chance to make a big purchase (which helps the economy). There's something wrong with that. This isn't about wages, this about quality of life.
Nina TurnerLabor 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.
Nina TurnerBeing a progressive himself, Franklin Roosevelt was talking about the fact that we should provide jobs for everyone who wants one. People do have a right to live in decent housing. They do have a right to education. FDR was preaching this gospel in the '30s, and Dr. Martin Luther King did the same thing in the 1960s with the Poor People's March on Washington. Folks in this country have these rights and it's the job of this country to answer this call.
Nina TurnerWe've had to overcome a lot in America to become a nation of progress. We still have a lot of progress to be made.
Nina TurnerIf workers are overworked, or companies hire temps at low wages, this fundamentally comes down to the quality of life for a person. It's bigger than wages. They should be able to spend time with their families. And if they're single, they should be able to have fun and not spend every day of their life working 12 to 15 hours a day and never get a chance to take care of their well-being. To me, that's part of living a good life.
Nina Turner