1. Wages That Reflect Reality

• Raise the federal minimum wage and index it to inflation so workers don’t fall behind every year.
  
  

• Support prevailing wage protections on federally funded projects to stop undercutting local workers.
  
  

• End federal policies that allow corporations to classify workers as “independent contractors” to dodge wages and benefits.
  
  

Contrast: Bentz has consistently opposed wage protections backed by labor and has aligned with business groups resisting minimum-wage increases.

2. The Right to Organize Without Retaliation

• Pass the PRO Act to protect workers’ freedom to unionize and bargain collectively.
  
  

• End union-busting tactics, captive-audience meetings, and employer retaliation.
  
  

• Ensure agricultural, domestic, and service workers, often excluded, have full labor protections.
  
  

Contrast: Bentz has opposed or voted against legislation strengthening collective bargaining and has taken positions aligned with anti-union interests.

3. Safe Jobs, Strong Enforcement

• Fully fund OSHA and strengthen penalties for repeat violators.
  
  

• Protect whistleblowers who report unsafe or illegal practices.
  
  

• Address the rise in workplace injuries and heat-related deaths, especially in agriculture, construction, and wildfire response.
  
  

OR-CD2 reality: From mills to fields to hospitals, workers know safety rules don’t matter if they’re never enforced.

4. Healthcare & Paid Leave Are Labor Issues

• Guarantee paid sick leave, paid family and medical leave, and predictable scheduling.
  
  

• Decouple healthcare from employment by moving toward universal coverage, so losing a job doesn’t mean losing care.
  
  

• Stop employers from cutting hours to avoid benefits.
  
  

Contrast: Bentz has voted against expansions of worker-centered healthcare protections and paid leave initiatives.

5. Retirement Security & Fair Scheduling

• Protect Social Security, no cuts, no raising the retirement age.
  
  

• Expand access to retirement plans for rural and small-business workers.
  
  

• End abusive on-call scheduling practices that destabilize family life.
  
  

6. Trade, Manufacturing, and Rural Jobs

• Support fair trade, not race-to-the-bottom outsourcing.
  
  

• Invest in domestic manufacturing, forest products, and value-added agriculture with strong labor standards attached.
  
  

• Tie federal subsidies and tax incentives to job quality, wages, and local hiring.
  
  

Difference in approach: I won’t vote for corporate giveaways with no worker protections attached.

7. No Corporate Capture of Labor Policy

• Ban members of Congress from trading stocks tied to industries they regulate.
  
  

• Close the revolving door between Congress and corporate lobbying firms.
  
  

Ensure workers, not hedge funds or private equity, benefit from federal labor and economic policy.