Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has called on President-elect Donald Trump to take action to protect workers in the Buckeye State by prioritizing their needs over proposals put forth by the GOP establishment.
“Ohio families will watch to see if the new president follows the billionaire agenda of the Republican leadership in Washington, which has called for overturning a new rule that increases overtime pay for many workers — an action that would strip thousands of dollars in wages from 130,000 of Ohio’s moderate-income workers,” Brown wrote in a New York Times op-ed.
The Ohio Democrat added that Trump would also be judged on whether he will support a raise in the minimum wage. Trump over the summer backed a $10 federal minimum wage, but said states should take the lead on the issue.
Brown called on Trump to stick to his pledge of eliminating unfair trade deals and renegotiating others that have room for improvement.
“Workers will expect the president to keep his promise of a trade agenda that puts their jobs above corporate profits,” he wrote. “And they will scrutinize whether he will throw in with Washington’s moneyed interests at the expense of middle-class and working-class families.”
“If President Trump takes the likely path that almost all Washington Republicans hope — tax cuts for the rich, an easing up on Wall Street, more voter suppression — Ohio workers will feel betrayed,” Brown continued. “Again. And they will respond.”