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Let communities decide
In 2013, the Legislature took away the right of Kansas cities and counties to set their own wage standards. That ban wiped out Kansas City, Kansas’s prevailing wage the year it passed. We want it reversed.
Start by restoring local prevailing wage, so cities can require fair local wages on the projects they pay for. Then give communities back their say over the minimum wage and paid sick leave.
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Expand KanCare
Kansas has already turned away $7.6 billion in federal funds by refusing to expand. Expanding KanCare would cover about 100,000 more Kansans. It would bring home hundreds of millions of federal dollars a year that we already pay in taxes. And it would help rural hospitals keep their doors open. Kansas has waited long enough.
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Raise the minimum wage
Kansas’s minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 since 2010. We want it raised and tied to the cost of living, so it never falls this far behind again. Voters in Missouri and Nebraska already did this.
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Make technology work for us, not against us
Guardrails on AI at work
Workers need to know when a machine is watching them or judging them. No one should be disciplined or fired by an algorithm without a human review. Any monitoring needs notice and limits.
No price-gouging by algorithm
Stores and apps should not get to charge you more because of what they know about you. We want grocery prices that stay put, not prices that jump around on digital shelf tags while you shop.
No high-tech union busting
Employers must not use surveillance tools or worker data to track, chill, or punish organizing. And they need to bargain with the union before bringing in any new monitoring.
By the numbers
$6.9B a year in lost wages for U.S. grocery workers if every store used digital shelf tags
85% of voters say workers must know if AI is monitoring them
79% of voters want real human oversight
Sources: AFL-CIO estimate; AFL-CIO / Data for Progress poll, 2026
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Property tax relief for working families, not the wealthy
Last year’s “relief” saves a typical Kansas home about $37 a year. Last session’s plans sent much of the relief to business property and the most expensive homes, and gave renters nothing. We want relief aimed at working homeowners and renters: lower the tax rate on homes, and let renters claim the Homestead refund again.
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Protect taxpayer dollars on public construction
When taxpayers pay for a building or a road, they deserve to know where the money goes and who is doing the work. We want a Kansas Construction Accountability Act. It would cover public projects of $100,000 or more, plus the no-bid contracts from $25,000 to $100,000 that the Legislature just opened up. Every contractor and subcontractor on those jobs would report how the job is staffed, including apprentice hours, to a public database anyone can download. It doesn’t change prevailing wage law or who can bid. It just turns on the lights.
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Invest in public education, from kindergarten to college
Kansas schools and campuses run on the people who work in them. Kansas needs to:
Fully fund public schools
The school funding formula runs out in July 2027. Its replacement must meet every student’s needs, including special education, where the state has left local taxpayers to cover the gap.
Fund public colleges and universities
Our public campuses train the nurses, teachers, and skilled workers Kansas runs on. Keep tuition affordable, and protect academic freedom and shared governance.
Respect the people who do the work
Restore due process for K-12 teachers. Give faculty and campus workers fair pay, due process, and a voice on the job.
Keep our promise on retirement
Move KPERS 3 members to the KPERS 2 pension, and give retirees a cost-of-living raise.
Enforcing the law we already have
We want a real crackdown on wage theft and on employers who misclassify workers as “contractors” to dodge wages, unemployment insurance, and workers’ comp. We’ll work with the Attorney General to make it happen, and we’ll report every dollar recovered for Kansas workers.
Where we stand
We support any effort that
- raises pay or lowers what families pay for power, child care, health care, and housing
- makes it easier to join a union and bargain
- makes companies that take public money pay good wages and keep their promises
- builds Kansas with Kansas workers
- rolls back so-called “right to work”
We oppose any effort that
- cuts taxes for the wealthy and shifts the cost onto working families
- drains money from public schools, including vouchers and private school tax credits
- cuts unemployment, workers’ comp, or pensions
- weakens the freedom to organize, or blocks communities from setting higher standards
- weakens training or licensing standards for electricians or any other skilled trade