What They Are Saying: Senator Gallego Unveils his Economic Policy Plan to Rebuild America’s Middle Class

WASHINGTON — Last week, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) released his sweeping economic policy plan to rebuild America’s middle class. The five-pillar plan, “ Saving the Middle Class and Restoring the American Dream, ” includes a tax on data centers and AI, a New-Deal style public service jobs program, and raising the minimum wage to $20-per-hour to build an economy by-and-for the middle class — not the elites. Read the full plan HERE . Since its release, the plan has received praise from advocacy groups, union leaders, and community leaders. The plan has also garnered attention on social media and received coverage from major news outlets. Here’s what they are saying: “Senator Gallego’s plan is the kind of bold thinking we need to rebuild the American middle class. Not only does the plan call for improvements to existing policies, such as increases in the minimum wage and overtime, but it also advances transformative reforms like sectoral bargaining that can dramatically boost union membership and coverage. This is a plan to take seriously,” said David Madland, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress. “This is one of the most ambitious agendas I’ve seen to reconnect the living standards of working families to overall economic growth. That project requires strong action on many different fronts, which is precisely what this agenda provides,” said Jared Bernstein, former Chairman, United States Council of Economic Advisers. “Corporate billionaires and CEOs are getting rich off of the backs of their employees while, at the same time, they are trying to silence voices and squelch concerted action and bargaining aimed at improving workplaces.  I applaud Senator Gallego for recognizing the vital importance of empowering the working class in order to address economic, racial and social justice gaps that just keep widening.  His laudable intention is to help everyday Americans regain appropriate wages and benefits earned through hard work and receive the dignity and respect that they richly deserve.  His comprehensive plan aims to re-level the playing field for working families by tackling this current Administration’s elevation of corporate interests above workers’ rights.  It rightly promotes collective worker power and workplace democracy, including through sectoral bargaining, which would address income inequality and wage stagnation, raise labor standards for all, and end a corporate competitive race to the bottom that fails to focus on the quality of goods and services provided to the public.  Elected officials need to heed the call, as Senator Gallego has, to restore balance and give everyone opportunities to attain the American dream,” said Jennifer Abruzzo, Former General Counsel, National Labor Relations Board. “Over 12,000 hard working Starbucks Workers United members across 45 states salute Senator Gallego for his innovative commitment to giving workers the tools to better our lives. We strongly agree that a clear path to the middle class starts with a union contract. We know that taking concrete steps to enhance workers rights and triple union density, while supporting a strong industrial policy that creates manufacturing jobs are essential to a broad based recovery. We see the complexity of AI in our worksites and support a stronger voice for workers and communities in regulating tech, data centers, and the growing use of automation that threaten our jobs and community well-being. At Starbucks Workers United, we know that our communities will thrive when all of us can ‘Salir Adelante,’” said Michelle Eisen, Union Leader, Starbucks Workers United. “AI could be the most disruptive technology of our lifetimes. Right now, decisions about this technology are being made by just a small subset of Silicon Valley CEOs, when they should be made by the American people. Senator Gallego’s AI pillar meets this challenge head-on, by protecting workers directly and empowering their collective bargaining power through their unions. We hear from Americans throughout this country that they want urgent action, and this plan’s comprehensiveness matches the moment,” said Alex Bores, Co-Founder and Board President, Who Decides. “Every day, CPLC sees how economic insecurity affects families. We welcome Senator Gallego’s focus on quality jobs and pathways to stability, helping more people build secure futures in their communities,” said Alicia Nunez, President and CEO, Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC). “At a time when billionaires, CEOs and mega-donors seem to be getting anything they want from the federal government while working families get left behind, it’s refreshing to see Senator Gallego’s plan to strengthen the middle class. Senator Gallego has made working people the core of his plan, recognizing that creating good union jobs is the key to both putting more money in workers’ pockets and enabling them to build better lives for themselves and their families. It’s past time for Congress to get to work on some of these ideas to finally put workers first,” said Claude Cummings, Jr., President, Communications Workers of America (CWA). “UNITE HERE has been proud to partner with Senator Gallego and strongly endorses his plan to re-create the middle class. Organizing non-union workers is the best way to build worker power in the United States and fight back against the White House’s overreach — driven by ruthless bosses and Wall Street executives trying to undermine democracy and crush unions,” said Gwen Mills, President, UNITE HERE. “Arizona’s working people are tired of living on edge, struggling to make ends meet while the wealthy elite continue to hoard profits. Higher wages, stronger benefits, protections against the unregulated, untested use of artificial intelligence, and making it easier for workers to join a union are core tenets of our labor movement, and we are pleased to see them reflected in Senator Gallego’s plan to recreate the middle class. We look forward to continuing to work together to build an Arizona where workers can pay bills, buy groceries and gas, afford to see a doctor, and take our family out to a movie once in a while. When working people thrive, Arizona’s communities and economy are stronger,” said Fred Yamashita, Executive Director and Secretary-Treasurer, Arizona AFL-CIO. “On the heels of the historic win by Banner Health primary care clinicians who just formed the state of Arizona’s first physician and advanced practice practitioner union, we should remember what forming a union is. It is an exercise of every American’s right to come together with their colleagues for shared interests as expressed in the National Labor and Relations Act of 1935. Exercising their right to say enough is enough, and demand that a workplace is a space of collaboration rather than domination in the name of profits guided into the hands of a few. Over time we have seen corporations gain largely unchecked power and leverage to union bust and prevent workers from taking a more active role in their workplaces. What happened at Banner is proof that tides are changing and that change is possible when it is done alongside their local community. Unionizing is a manifestation of the deepest level of care for one’s workplace, rooted in the belief that a better future is possible for all. The UAPD proudly endorses Senator Ruben Gallego’s economic vision to triple union density by 2035 in the state of Arizona,” said Sebastian Gomez, Organizer, Union of American Physicians and Dentists. “Through my work supporting small businesses and attracting investment from Mexico, I’ve seen what entrepreneurs can accomplish when they have access to capital and the right support. Community lenders like CDFIs, strong cross-border partnerships, and affordable housing for workers and their families all help businesses grow and hire locally. I support Senator Gallego’s focus on expanding opportunities in smaller cities, rural areas, and tribal and border communities. Entrepreneurs should have a real chance to build a successful business in the place they call home,” said Francisca Villegas, Chief of Mexican Direct Investment, City of Tucson. “In Santa Cruz County, ‘QUEREMOS SALIR ADELANTE.’ We want to see that promise carried across generations. We want our young people to have the opportunity to build meaningful careers and strong families, our working families to achieve stability, and our older generations to know that a lifetime of hard work has led to security and the dignity of being able to retire. “In workforce development, we have the privilege of helping people take those next steps by connecting job seekers to real employment opportunities and creating pathways through training, apprenticeships, and career development. Helping people find work is important but helping them find opportunities that can lead to long term stability is just as important. We also see another side of our workforce that deserves our attention. We see older workers who have spent 30, 40, or even 50 years in industries like produce and distribution, people who helped build the economy and community we have today, still performing physically demanding work well into their 70s because they simply cannot afford to retire. “Rebuilding the middle class should mean that hard work leads somewhere. It should mean creating opportunities for the next generation while honoring the generation that came before them. After a lifetime of work, our older generations should be able to retire with dignity without worrying about whether they can afford rent, groceries, health care, and other basic necessities. That is what salir adelante should look like across generations,” said Zaida Bustamante, Executive Director, ARIZONA@WORK Santa Cruz County. “Sen. Gallego’s middle-class plan recognizes that small businesses must be at the center of our nation’s economic future, including as emerging technologies reshape the way businesses operate and compete. Small entrepreneurs should have the ability to join together and bargain for affordable access to new technologies, helping ensure that innovation expands opportunity rather than deepening the advantages of the largest corporations. This plan also recognizes the importance of strengthening small-business economies beyond superstar cities, including rural, tribal, and border communities that too often bear the costs of trade without seeing enough of its benefits. By expanding access to capital, supporting local entrepreneurship, and ensuring trade policy works for Main Street businesses, we can build an economy where small businesses and their workers have a meaningful opportunity to thrive,” said Lauren Bealore, National Director of Policy & Programs, Main Street Alliance. “SMART members across the United States work tirelessly to build and move our nation, whether ensuring kids breathe quality air in schools or transporting people and freight. In return, we don’t ask for much — the ability to provide for our families, stay healthy, and live a life with dignity. But for too long, our economy hasn’t worked for people who actually work for a living. And from coast to coast, Americans are demanding change. “Senator Ruben Gallego’s Middle Class Plan recognizes that we aren’t asking for handouts. We’re asking for a system that rewards workers, not corporate elites. We’re asking for a fair shot. That’s what SMART fights for every day, and it’s what every working person in this country deserves. We will continue that fight on behalf of SMART members and working Americans nationwide, and we urge all elected leaders to join us in fighting for an economy that works for all of us,” said the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART Union). “This agenda charts new American trade policies that benefit U.S. workers and producers, build fairer markets, deconcentrate political power, and strengthen our resilience and national security. It recognizes what’s at stake — we cannot have well-paid jobs, thriving Main Street businesses, safe and affordable medicine and food, green energy and transportation, or productive investment over financialization, unless we replace both the neoliberal NAFTA-WTO agenda and Trump’s Oligarch First tariff corruption,” said Lori Wallach, Director, Rethink Trade. “Communities like San Luis have tremendous potential, but we need the tools and investment to turn that potential into long-term economic opportunity. Our focus is on helping small businesses and entrepreneurs grow, expanding access to capital, strengthening our infrastructure, and leveraging our position along the U.S.-Mexico border to attract manufacturing, food processing, logistics, and other quality job-creating industries. I appreciate that Senator Gallego’s plan recognizes the unique needs of rural and border communities and the importance of making sure federal economic development resources reach communities like ours,” said Armando Esparaza, Economic Development Director, City of San Luis. “Americans are facing difficult financial decisions everyday and Senator Gallego understands that more than most. Senator Gallego’s plan to ease Americans financial burdens is multi faceted and we are glad to see a core pillar of the plan is to increase the percentage of workers that are members of a union. It has been proven numerous times union members earn higher wages and better benefits which gives working families the ability to live the American dream and not paycheck to paycheck,” said Jason Sangster, Business Manager, Ironworkers (IW) Local 75. See what people had to say about Senator Gallego’s middle class plan on social media: @ OutspokenKTAR on X: “‘If we don’t raise wages, then what are we doing here?’” “Sen. Ruben Gallego breaks down his new economic plan.” @ philaroneanu on X: “@RubenGallego’s plan to heavily tax AI and data centers to pay for New Deal style jobs programs, raise wages, and strengthen the safety net seems very smart to me. “Even if we freeze new AI development, today’s models will likely chew up millions of jobs in the coming years.” @ Ami_Marisol on X: “An example of Dems using “affordability” as a messaging tool: “Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) released a new report on ‘saving the middle class’ where he frames future economic growth should move away from ‘exploitative industries that funnel money from the working class to shareholders.’ The subtle intersectionality of race-consciousness and class-consciousness is also present.” See additional coverage below of Senator Gallego’s middle class plan: NBC News: Sen. Ruben Gallego rolls out an economic agenda as he weighs a 2028 White House bid [Scott Wong, 10/7/2026] Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who is eyeing a possible presidential bid in 2028, rolled out a new, national economic plan Wednesday that calls for boosting the minimum wage to $20 per hour and a New Deal-style public service jobs program funded by taxes on artificial intelligence companies and unpopular data centers. “There’s a lot of changes that are coming because of AI that we’re not prepared for. There’s been a lot of bad things that have been happening for the middle class for the last 40 years that we have not really changed, either. And that’s why I think you have this real anxiety out there that working America feels,” Gallego said in an interview Tuesday. “I always felt like, you know, if I put 40 hours’ worth of honest work together, I would have enough to support my family, and then feel comfortable enough to go to a movie,” he continued. “That’s not happening anymore, and so that’s the most important focus of this plan.” The Washington Post: Ruben Gallego, weighing a presidential run, debuts a new economic plan [Theodoric Meyer, 10/7/2026] In an interview, Gallego said he is putting out the plan to help shape his party’s agenda if Democrats retake the Senate next month in the midterm elections. But he acknowledged that it also lays out some of the policies he would champion if he runs for president. “We want to make sure people kind of have a viewpoint of where my position is, where my heart is when it comes to where working-class America is,” Gallego said. Gallego’s plan involves dozens of ideas, including raising the federal minimum wage to $20 an hour by 2030, requiring employers pay twice a worker’s usual wage for overtime work instead of time-and-a-half, mandating that companies offer paid sick leave and vacation and steps to strengthen unions. Semafor: Gallego rolls out ambitious plan to insulate workers against AI [Burgess Everett, 10/7/2026] “People that are working right now don’t feel like their hard work is actually bringing them anything in return … and going into election season, people want to know where Democrats stand,” Gallego told Semafor in an interview this week. Gallego said he’s ready to maximize Democratic authority to get it done. He proposed putting as much of his proposal as he can in a party-line budget reconciliation bill that Democrats can pass with a simple majority if they control the House, Senate, and White House come 2029. Bloomberg: Senate Democrat Gallego Floats AI Tax to Fund Economic Jobs Plan [Chris Cioffi, 10/7/2026] Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.)’s New Deal-style plan would boost the minimum wage to $20 per hour from $7.25, provide public jobs for workers displaced by AI, and steer trade policy away from what he called the “reckless” policies under President Donald Trump. Funded by the new taxes on the sector, Gallego said his plan would bring stability to middle-income American workers, who are struggling to navigate nascent AI-caused workforce disruptions. Gallego’s plan would be funded by a so-called “robot” tax to discourage job dislocation and maintain company payroll contributions for jobs that have been outsourced to AI. It also calls for imposing a 10% data center excise tax while taking away bonus depreciation and deductions for state and local taxes. POLITICO, Decoded Newsletter: Inside AI safety’s hottest club [Christine Mui, Sam Sutton, Brendan Bordelon, and Calder McHugh, 10/7/2026] GALLEGO POLICY GLIMPSE — Potential 2028 hopeful Sen. Ruben Gallego jumped on the phone with Decoded to preview the new economic blueprint he’ll roll out later this morning that would create a New Deal-style public service jobs program funded by new taxes on large AI companies, data centers and tokens. Why it matters: The economy of Gallego’s home state has benefitted substantially from a recent acceleration in chips manufacturing, which has been supercharged by the AI boom. And while the senator’s playbook nods at the technology’s upside — giving a special shoutout to the Nvidia Blackwell chips that are produced in Arizona — he also writes that “we must slow AI development and regulate it.”