PUBLIC EDUCATION

As the daughter of a vocational education teacher and the wife of a teacher, I know that supporting teachers is the most important part of public education. Teachers can do their best work when they have manageable class sizes, ongoing training, and resources to help them accommodate unique learning styles. 

I know how committed teachers are to preparing our children for the future and we must be committed to them, too. I’ve introduced legislation to keep teachers’ pay competitive with other professionals in their areas and to restore collective bargaining for teachers and school employees and allow administrators to engage in collective bargaining.

I am proud to have invested in our public schools, including money for free public school meals, outdoor learning spaces and student mental health. This includes $400,000 for the Novi Education Foundation,  $700,000 for mental health services in South Lyon Schools, and $200,000 for high intensity tutoring in Farmington Schools. I’m committed to making sure investment in public education is consistent, equitable, and makes the best use of our valuable tax dollars.  

I have brought educators and administrators to the table to hear about their experiences, and have enlisted their help in finding a sustainable strategy for providing resources to public schools. With your support, I will continue working toward an education system that prepares our students for whichever career path they’ve chosen. This solution starts with giving every child the benefit of early childhood education through universal pre-kindergarten programs and continues by funding higher education options like vocational and trade schools in addition to traditional colleges.

BETTER JOBS

In 2022, I held a Small Business Townhall to bring resources to business owners and to people who were interested in starting a business.

Small businesses make our communities stronger and bring jobs and services that our residents rely on.

We must be forward-looking and ensure our state is competitive by maintaining an educated workforce, updating our infrastructure, and incentivizing new industries and businesses to bring good-paying jobs to our communities. COVID had a devastating impact on so many local businesses, and it’s the right thing to do to help them bounce back. 

I’m also committed to advocating for programs and resources that grow our local businesses and pursue industries that will bring well-paid, quality jobs and important services to our region. For example, “blue and green” tech jobs in clean energy, conservation, mobility, and sustainable agriculture have massive growth projections and potential in Michigan. For the 2025 fiscal year budget, $45.5 million will support talent and growth efforts at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and $60 million will be used to establish an Innovation Fund to invest in scalable startups and help launch hundreds of new Michigan-based companies, creating thousands of jobs. Strategies like these will help Michigan grow and compete, today and tomorrow.

WORKER’S RIGHTS

Having practiced workers’ compensation law on both sides of the table, I’ve heard it all: “Workers don’t want to work, they just want something for nothing. They don’t deserve what they’re paid at union jobs. We don’t need unions anymore, workers have it good already.”

The reality is that we wouldn’t have any of the safety nets and benefits we have today if it wasn’t for organized labor. Their contributions to the workforce have been life-changing, and we must preserve them for the workers of today and tomorrow. That’s why I, along with the Democratic majority in the state legislature, voted to repeal Right to Work and reinstate the prevailing wage law, bills that I co-sponsored. I also introduced a bill to protect employees who make a complaint about wages to their employer.

All that said, we can definitely improve our programs serving workers and employers. For example, with workers’ compensation alone, we need:

• A uniform standard on what qualifies as a good faith job search.

• A clear definition of “a good and reasonable cause” for when injured or ill workers are unable to seek or keep employment.

• More reasonable cut off standards to make it fair for both workers and employers.

Even small changes can have a big impact on people trying to support themselves and their families, so let’s dispel the myths and keep this conversation going.

EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE

Thriving means giving everyone the chance to succeed. I supported the expansion of Michigan’s civil rights law to include LGBTQ+ people so that they have the same workplace protections as the rest of us. We must also finally ensure that women—especially women of color—receive equal pay for equal work.

I support the Equal Pay Package that was introduced in 2024 to address the wage gap and increase the reporting and documentation of wage disparities in various industries. Together, we can make sure we’re all represented, included, and respected in our workplaces.