Best Candidates for Working People, 2018: Jahana Hayes

This November’s elections are shaping up to be among the most consequential in recent U.S. history. Throughout the summer and fall, we are taking a look at the best candidates for working people. Today, we feature Connecticut congressional candidate Jahana Hayes.

Here are some of the key reasons why Hayes is one of the best candidates for working people in 2018:

• As a teacher, school administrator and union member (CEA and School Administrators [AFSA]), Hayes knows the power of public education and she will work to make sure that teachers are trained and have the resources they need to foster student success.

• She wants to make college more affordable and more open to more students.

• She favors comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship.

• She supports the DREAM Act to help young people find a path to citizenship and access to higher education.

• She wants to invest in community colleges and trade schools to support training programs and job creation.

• She favors raising the minimum wage.

• She is committed to closing the gender pay gap for men and women, with a particular focus on closing the even larger gender-based pay gap for women of color.

• In addition to improving programs for mental and physical help for veterans, she wants to invest in programs that educate and train veterans for finding high-quality jobs.

• She favors moving toward a single-payer health care system and other policies that lower costs and improve care.

To learn more about Hayes, visit her website or check out this video from the Connecticut AFL-CIO convention: