Meet the Press 8.28.17

**View Brown’s interview HERE. Download production quality footage HERE.**

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In case you missed it, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is continuing his work to level the playing field for Ohio workers who haven’t seen their hard work reflected in their wages and benefits.

On “Meet the Press” this weekend, Brown highlighted the need to restore the value of work for Ohioans.

“They’ve seen profits go up. They’ve seen executive wages go up. They’ve seen their wages [stay] flat,” said Brown on Sunday.

In March, Brown unveiled a plan, “Working Too Hard for Too Little: A Plan for Restoring the Value of Work in America,” with solutions to address the challenges facing Ohio workers and make hard work pay off again.

Brown’s plan will make hard work pay off once again by doing four things:

1.      Raising workers’ wages and benefits

2.      Giving workers more power in the workplace

3.      Making it possible for more workers to save for retirement

4.      Encouraging more companies to invest in their workforces

 

During the interview, Brown also discussed his work with President Donald Trump’s Administration to renegotiate NAFTA.

“I called the President’s head of transition and offered to help him renegotiate NAFTA, offered to help him enforce trade rules, especially for steel,” said Brown. “I work with this President when he’s right on trade.”

Brown reached out to President Donald Trump’s transition team immediately after the election and has engaged top trade officials and the President on overhauling U.S. trade policy to benefit Ohio workers.

Brown sent a letter in November ahead of Trump’s inauguration outlining specific steps to retool U.S. trade policy. President Trump responded with a hand-written note. Brown also outlined a four-point plan to get the best deal for Ohio workers in renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA):

  1. Secure Anti-Outsourcing and Buy America Provisions Up Front
  2. Don’t Pit American Workers and Industries against Each Other in Negotiations
  3. Build Enforcement Tools that Favor American Workers, Not Foreign Corporations if the Deal is Violated
  4. Include Workers in the Negotiations

Brown is a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over U.S. trade deals.

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