Clinton touts infrastructure plan, picks up Labor secretary’s support

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton on Friday touted her multibillion-dollar plan to create jobs and reiterated her calls for paid family leave and paid sick leave. 

Speaking at the carpenter training center in Sioux City, Iowa, Clinton spoke about her proposed five-year, $275 billion plan to “strengthen infrastructure [and] create good-paying jobs.” 

“It also strengthens our economy and that in turn, leads to more good jobs in the future,” Clinton continued, adding that she wants to invest more heavily in roads and airports and create better access to high-speed Internet. 

{mosads}Clinton told the crowd that she’s the only candidate who will “work to raise incomes, not taxes. I will not raise taxes on the middle class of America,” Clinton said, one of her biggest applause lines. 

Labor Secretary Tom Perez formally endorsed Clinton’s bid on Friday in Iowa, becoming Obama’s third Cabinet member to back the former secretary of State’s campaign. “There’s no greater advocate for working families than the secretary of Labor,” Clinton said. 

“We’ve got to do a lot more to make the economy stronger for everybody, not just those at the top,” Clinton said. “We’ve got to make it easier for workers to take care of their own health,” as well as giving them the ability for them to take care of their kids’ and parents’ health.

Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), her closest rival for the Democratic nomination, have been locked in a battle for labor support. Clinton has shored up endorsements from 16 unions including the influential Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the National Education Association (NEA). Sanders has received support from the National Nurses United and the American Postal Workers Union.