Labor Reforms Proposed by Senate HELP Committee Command Broad Popular Support
By Rob Todaro
Last month, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, chaired by Senator Bernie Sanders, passed three bills that would significantly reform labor laws and expand worker protections related to paid sick leave, gender pay discrimination, and workers’ right to organize.
New Data for Progress polling finds that these Democratic proposals command broad support among likely voters, including a majority of Independents and Republicans.
The Healthy Families Act, sponsored by Sanders, would require all employers with at least 15 employees to provide seven days of paid sick leave to all their workers. Employers with fewer than 15 employees would be required to provide seven days of unpaid sick leave to all their workers. Our polling finds that 77% of voters support this bill, including 86% of Democrats, 74% of Independents, and 67% of Republicans.
The Paycheck Fairness Act, sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray, would expand existing pay discrimination laws and strengthen workplace protections for women by requiring employers to demonstrate that any gaps in salaries between women and men in their workplace were due to legitimate, job-related reasons rather than gender. Our polling finds that 77% of voters support this bill, including 91% of Democrats, 73% of Independents, and 64% of Republicans.
The Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, also sponsored by Sanders, would make it easier for Americans to form unions and negotiate for higher pay and better benefits. Our polling finds that 70% of voters support this bill, including 85% of Democrats, 69% of Independents, and 53% of Republicans.
This polling makes clear that voters across the political spectrum support progressive labor reforms aimed at protecting workers and combating inequality.
Rob Todaro (@robtodaro) is the Communications Director at Data for Progress.
Survey Methodology
From July 12 to 13, 2023, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,276 likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, geography, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points.