Reply from Sharice Davids
Dear Donavan,
Thank you for contacting me to express your concern for protecting workers’ rights.
Making sure that all workers are treated with fairness, dignity, and respect is personal to me. I was raised by a single mom who worked hard every day to provide for our family and is a steward for the American Postal Workers Union. Her sacrifices ingrained in me the need to protect workers’ rights and the notion that everyone should have the chance to negotiate for fair pay and benefits in good faith. All workers should be able to earn a decent wage for hard day’s work, operate in a safe workplace, and be free of discrimination due to race, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
But we also have to do more and lay the foundation for a fairer and stronger economy that supports workers’ rights well into the future. That’s why I support the PRO Act, which strengthens the rights of workers to organize and protects them against unfair labor practices. Ensuring that workers can organize and negotiate in good faith as a union for fair wages, stronger benefits, and reasonable hours is crucial to making sure that our economy can support a strong middle class. I also voted for the Raise the Wage Act to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, helping to ensure a living wage for up to 27.3 million Americans.
Furthermore, no one should have to live in fear of violence or harassment at their workplace. That’s why I support the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act and the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, which strengthen workplace safety standards to groups that have been long excluded from these protections.
Finally, we have to do a better job of supporting workers and families in our economy. That’s why I voted to ensure all federal employees can access 12 weeks of paid leave and provide millions of additional workers access to paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave. Both of these measures are now law. No one should have to choose between work without pay or not being able to take time off at all because of an accident, medical emergency, or because you are pregnant or need to take care of your child. I also support the Paycheck Fairness Act to ensure equal pay for equal work so women and families can get the pay they’ve earned.
I appreciate having the opportunity to hear your thoughts about what we need to do protect the rights of workers and ensure a fairer economy for all. Listening to you always helps me do a better job and each letter makes a difference. Please davids.house.gov/survey to continue our conversation.
My warmest regards,
Sharice L. David
Your response is a generic auto-generated reply. It doesn't address a single word I wrote.
This country is built on American workers. It's a travesty that we can lose our rights against employers because of deadlines we know nothing about.
The Workers Right To Know Act puts those rights in front of us — on the same board that explains everything else an employer is required to post. Minimum wage. OSHA. FMLA. EEOC. All required. But the federal filing deadline that kills your claim? Nowhere.
I lost my ADA claim against The Hershey Company because no one — not my employer, not my workers' comp attorney — told me about the 300-day EEOC window until it was gone. Judge dismissed with prejudice on April 24, 2026. Rakestraw v. The Hershey Company, Case No. 2:25-cv-02682.
The full record is at HersheysHurtMe.com. The bill and campaign are at https://www.workerrighttoknow.org/.
You said in your reply that workers' rights are personal to you — that your mother was an APWU steward. Then prove it. A union steward's son should understand exactly what this bill fixes. Workers can't enforce rights they don't know exist. Employers count on that silence. Your mother knew it. You know it.
So which is it? Is workers' rights personal — or is it a talking point your staff plugs into form letters when the keyword "worker" trips the filter?
I'm a Kansas constituent. Army Combat Engineer, 12 years Missouri National Guard. The PRO Act and minimum wage talking points in your reply don't address the harm. This bill does. Read it.
As American workers, we deserve this. Every worker does. Be the person who stands with us — or be the person who sent a form letter to a veteran whose federal case was killed by the exact problem this bill solves.
Will someone on your legislative staff actually read it? Or do I get another auto-reply?
Are you there to draw a paycheck, or to help Americans? You said workers' rights are personal — that your mother was an APWU steward. Prove it. Workers can't enforce rights they don't know exist, and employers count on that silence. Your mother knew it. So do you.
Donnie Rakestraw
Supertech007@gmail.com
Paola, KS
It's this easy. A small poster in the labor law area. Super cheap and informative.
