"...As Governor, Bill Richardson has increased the minimum wage for all New Mexicans. In addition, he reinstated collective bargaining for public employees, supported stronger penalties for employer violations while workers attempt to unionize, secured the first public works labor agreement in New Mexico history and made New Mexico's prevailing wage a union wage. Governor Richardson also cut taxes for working families again this year, returning $52 million to their pockets.
In July, unemployment in New Mexico hit an all-time low of 3.5%, lower than the national average of 4.5%. In the last year, New Mexico has added 14,700 jobs, with over 80,000 new jobs being created in New Mexico under Governor Richardson's stewardship.
Governor Richardson also has taken the progressive and economically just step of ending taxation on food and medicine in New Mexico.
As President, Bill Richardson will appoint a union member as his Secretary of Labor. He's also indicated his strong support for the Employee Free Choice Act, allowing workers to unionize without fear of retribution or intimidation. Given his record as Governor of New Mexico, working men and women have every reason to believe that Bill Richardson will be a staunch defender of their rights to collectively bargain. And at the AFL-CIO debate in Chicago last month, Governor Richardson also said he'd get rid of all the union busting attorneys in the Department of Labor and OSHA.
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