Democrats will remove obstacles for workers, public and private, to exercise their right to organize, form, and join unions. We recognize that unions contribute to building a stronger middle class, as well as their crucial role in fighting for living wages, fair work rules and hiring practices, and safe working conditions. In the absence of a state-based living wage, unions have been shown to close the earning and wage gaps, especially for women and communities of color. Unions have democratized our workplaces and help to counterbalance the overreach of modern monopolies, providing a much-needed check on the unfettered socioeconomic stratification of our society.

We Affirm

1. That our elected leaders must stand in support of unionization in fields that are typically unrepresented by unions e.g., the gig economy, service and home-care jobs, and adjunct college teachers; and

2. The rights of workers to organize and to bargain collectively for a safe and fair working environment; and

3. The government should bargain in good faith at all times.

We Will

1. Protect and expand Social Security; and

2. Oppose the privatization of Social Security; and

3. Support paid parental leave and expand publicly funded childcare; and

4. Reject tax policies and global trade agreements that incentivize the outsourcing of American jobs; and

5. Support fair labor practices for all workers; and

6. Support Project Labor Agreements; and

7. Support fair and equitable Earned Sick Leave policies for all workers in New Mexico; and

8. Hire local union shops and businesses that uphold the rights and dignity of workers; and

9. Expose and oppose “right-to-work” laws, which are anti-union and limit the rights and benefits of workers and suppress their wages; and

10. Eliminate unfair hiring and firing practices; and

11. Support retirement plans for all without diminishing benefits or increasing employee contributions to benefits; and

12. Give preference to employee-owned companies, cooperatives, and companies that operate under workers’ councils (workers holding seats on corporate boards of directors) in the awarding of state contracts; and

13. Support equal pay for, based on seniority within same-level positions; and 

14. Encourage all employers to recognize workers’ needs for rest periods and call upon New Mexico legislators to enact a law requiring rest periods for employees; and

15. Support guaranteeing severance pay for workers laid off from companies acquired by private equity investors.