Workers deserve it all
Claire Valdez is an Assemblymember, union organizer and proud democratic socialist running for Congress in NY-7 to fight for the working class.
Click on an issue below to learn more about Claire's platform.
Unions are how we build power and expand democracy. Organized workers win higher wages and stronger benefits, work in safer conditions, and exercise more control over their time and their lives. They are more secure at work, more engaged in their communities, and more likely to vote. That's exactly why oligarchs spend billions trying to crush collective bargaining—because organized workers threaten their power. As a former union organizer Claire will always put workers first.
In Congress, Claire will fight to:
- Strengthen and pass the PRO Act, establish active federal support for union organizing, and end “at will” employment, paving the way for a new era of organized labor and making unions for all a reality;
- End the unchecked corporate dominance that has proliferated in our country for too long;
- Ensure everyone has the freedom to live a good life by guaranteeing a job with a living wage, paid parental and sick leave, quality health care, and a dignified retirement.
A good home is the foundation for a good life, but finding and holding onto one can feel like an impossible task. But the housing crisis is a political choice. Too many politicians serve the landlords who raise our rent instead of representing the majority who have to pay it. 77% of NY-7 residents are tenants, and as homeownership slips further out of reach, that number will only grow. As one of the few members of Congress who would be a tenant, Claire will not stop fighting until we win that future.
In Congress, Claire will fight for:
- Universal rent control;
- A full supply of homes through public investment;
- The right to a safe home;
- Real tenant power and landlord accountability
While major health insurance corporations post obscene profits, tens of thousands of people in New York's 7th District remain uninsured—and many more are underinsured. Working people delay care, ration medication, and face financial ruin from a single hospital visit. This is not inevitable. It's the result of a system designed to put profit before patients. In Congress, Claire will sponsor Medicare for All on Day One and fight the insurance companies that profit from denying care and driving up costs. No one should lose their health care when they lose a job, and no one should have to choose between seeing a doctor and paying rent. Health care is a human right.
New York’s 7th District is home to people from all over the world—and from every corner of this country. Roughly a third of our neighbors were born outside the United States. Many more moved here chasing work, safety, or a better life. NY-7 shows what makes New York City strong: solidarity, diversity, and change. In Congress, Claire Valdez will fight to dismantle and abolish ICE. She will push for real immigration reform that legalizes the status of millions of immigrant Americans. Claire believes our district’s future — and our country’s — depends on protecting the dignity and rights of all working people, no matter where they were born.
In Congress, Claire will fight to:
- Abolish and dismantle ICE
- Stand with communities targeted by ICE and rebuild in solidarity
- Address root causes of mass migration
For decades, we have been sold a lie: that the U.S. empire defends freedom, advances democracy, and protects human rights. We've been told that wars abroad keep us safe at home. In reality, the bipartisan war machine has delivered immense suffering around the world while doing little to improve the lives of working people here or abroad. Claire will fight to end it.
In Congress, Claire will:
- Champion a foreign policy that centers human rights, justice, peace, cooperation, and respect for sovereignty;
- Push to end all weapons sales and military aid to Israel and fight for Palestinian freedom;
- Stand against imperialism in Latin America and for Puerto Rican self-determination;
- Treat climate change as the preeminent global threat it is, promoting cooperation and global investments.
Puerto Ricans helped build New York City, and they continue to shape the political and cultural fabric of our district. NY-7 is home to a large and vibrant Puerto Rican community. We must continue the work of Nydia Velázquez and loudly champion the issues affecting both the island and Puerto Rican communities here at home. Claire will work for a reconstruction of Puerto Rico for Puerto Ricans.
As a member of Congress, Claire will fight to:
- Let the people of Puerto Rico determine their own political future by reintroducing the Puerto Rican Self Determination Act;
- Cancel Puerto Rico's unjust debt, abolish La Junta, and end the control of unelected financial overseers who have imposed austerity on working families;
- Build a publicly accountable, affordable, and reliable renewable energy system that serves residents instead of private utility companies and investors;
- Invest in resilient infrastructure that can withstand hurricanes, flooding, and other climate-related disasters while creating good-paying union jobs;
- Lower grocery costs by investing in Puerto Rico’s farmers, strengthen local food systems, and repealing the Jones Act;
- Clean up environmental contamination and address the health and safety impacts of decades of military activity on the island, with affected communities leading the process.
For more than half a century, federal transportation policy has been written by and for the auto industry. Working people in cities got the bill: poisoned air, gutted neighborhoods, and a mass transit system starved of funding while highways ate the budget. In NY-7, 79% of commuters get to work by transit, foot, or bike — and that's true for the majority of the working class across New York City. But federal dollars still flow overwhelmingly to roads, funding a car-centered system most people here don't use and can't afford. Claire will fight to redirect federal dollars toward public transportation, walking, and biking, and to build a new mass transit system that works for everyone.
In Congress, Claire will:
- Fight for the reallocation of federal transportation dollars to reconnect communities and reverse the proliferation of surface highways like McGuinness Boulevard.
- Increase the amount of federal transportation spending dedicated to public transportation projects and support local efforts to increase transit options and availability.
- Invest in new technology both to support union jobs and to reduce carbon emissions when driving is necessary, working toward a goal of net-zero emissions.
Americans deserve an economy that is affordable, worker-focused, and climate-friendly. By ushering in a Green New Deal that creates millions of jobs, we can make energy cleaner and more affordable for everyone, all while building the climate-resilient infrastructure that protects our homes and neighborhoods. Claire’s vision would lower costs and create millions of high-quality, union jobs to help build the future we need.
As a member of Congress, Claire will:
- Call for freezing electricity rates, holding corporations accountable, and investing in a rapid transition to an affordable, clean, and reliable energy system;
- Push for tough AI regulation, so its rapid expansion doesn't increase energy bills, degrade the environment or lay off millions of workers
- Fight to build resilient infrastructure that protects communities from flooding, extreme heat, and other climate impacts;
- Work to update labor standards to include heat protections, and support local cleanup efforts where toxic exposure has harmed residents for years
Claire will never turn her back on queer and trans people. She will stand shoulder to shoulder with LGBTQIA+ communities and fight to ensure equal rights, dignity, and protection in every part of life.
In Congress, Claire will fight to:
- Pass national-level protections and undo federal attacks against queer and trans people, codifying the right to live a full, dignified life;
- Enforce civil rights nationally and use Congress’s power to ensure states are not rolling back or violating the rights of queer and trans people;
- Win a Medicare for All health care system that includes full coverage for gender-affirming care, contraception, and PrEP;
- Invest in safe, inclusive housing, recognizing that LGBTQIA+ people, especially trans people and youth, face disproportionate levels of homelessness and housing insecurity.
Seemingly overnight, and without public consent, major technology companies have embedded artificial intelligence (AI) into the bedrock of daily life. Writing an email, choosing a TV show, using a search engine — all of these tasks are now mediated by AI. While the long-term consequences of this technology are still unfolding, the immediate costs are clear: AI places a massive burden on our environmental resources, eliminates jobs, and devalues genuine human skill and creativity.
As long as tech billionaires are permitted to amass unchecked profits from this new technology, AI’s influence will only expand — regardless of the harms it inflicts on working people and the planet. We cannot stand by while a handful of CEOs reshape our entire economy to further concentrate wealth and power. As your representative in Congress, Claire will fight to hold major technology corporations accountable, protect our workforce from the harms of AI, and ensure that new technologies benefit communities, not just corporate executives.
In Congress, Claire will support:
- Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Center Moratorium Act which places a responsible pause on new data center construction while establishing strict environmental protections, banning corporate subsidies, empowering local community oversight, and mandating strong union labor standards.
- Legislation that requires users to opt-in to generative AI instead of imposing it on users without their consent, and obtain their consent before collecting data to train models or conduct surveillance.
- Reclaiming the economic gains of automation for workers by supporting a 32-hour work week with no reduction in pay.
- Mass education programs across industries and regions that will bring workers together to discuss the local impacts of AI, build solidarity, and equip them with tools to organize.
Safe, accessible abortion is a right that should be afforded to everyone, without exception. But state bans have forced millions of people into dangerous, sometimes life-threatening situations where they have to travel hundreds of miles to get the care that they need. As a member of Congress, Claire will fight to codify the right to an abortion nationwide, and make sure everyone has access to sexual and reproductive health care under Medicare for All. And, in the interim, she will work to defend telehealth and mail-order abortion care in states with bans or limited access.
Higher education should be a public good. But our current system of universities and colleges are increasingly unaffordable, often elitist, and unfairly reliant on labor from low-paid teaching positions. Whether you are pursuing an undergraduate or technical degree, Claire supports guaranteed access to tuition-free higher education. She wants to dismantle the tuition-and-loan business model that leaves students in crushing, often lifelong debt and redirect federal grant funds to support a network of participating public institutions, private colleges, regional schools, and rural universities. These funds would cover the cost of attendance and necessary living expenses, regardless of means-testing, complex income caps, or restrictive demographic requirements. She will support legislation that ensures all people delivering education, particularly adjuncts and contingent faculty, have fair compensation, job security, and collective bargaining rights.
For early and developing education, Claire supports a moratorium on generative AI use. Data suggests that AI has adverse effects on students’ cognitive skills, critical thinking, and mental health. By eliminating AI in schools, we support healthy brain development, safeguard against inherent technological biases, and protect student privacy.