Issues & Priorities
Medicare, Social Security, Union Jobs, and More
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Meet Luke
Gulbranson
Priorities:
Luke was born and raised on the Iron Range. While his family was never wealthy, they were able to get by with his dad’s union job and government programs that help working people. Today too many Northern Minnesotans are suffering – good-paying union jobs are disappearing and the government safety net is under attack. Luke will fight to make the richest Americans pay their fair share, so working families can live and thrive in Northern Minnesota.
I’m running for Congress to help the family doing math at the kitchen table and coming up short, to protect the land, the water, and the hardworking people who deserve better, to give more opportunities to the kid skating on the outdoor rink until the lights go out.
Protect Social Security and Medicare
Social Security and Medicare are a promise made to Americans: if you work hard, you should be able to retire with dignity. Pete Stauber said he would protect these programs – and then voted to gut them. Luke knows what Social Security and Medicare mean to Minnesotans because his own family depends on them, and he will fight every day to protect the social safety net. He strongly opposes cutting programs that over a million Minnesotans rely on so that we can fund a reckless war in Iran.
Lower the Cost of Essentials
Gas, groceries, housing and electricity cost more than ever. Yet wages for working Minnesotans aren’t keeping up. We need to attack rising costs on all fronts – Luke will focus on ending bad trade deals, bringing stability to our international relationships, cracking down on price-gouging by pharmaceutical companies, and reducing regulations on housing that drive up prices.
Level the Playing Field
While many families in Northern Minnesota live paycheck to paycheck, the top 1% have never felt so good. This is by design – our government must stop giving more tax breaks to the richest Americans and start making them pay their fair share. While billionaires game the system, working-class and middle-class families play by the rules and fall further behind.
Stand Up for Public Education and Teachers
Every child and young adult in the Northland deserves a great school, and Luke will show up to fight for that. He will stand up against Donald Trump’s efforts to gut the Department of Education, slash education funding, and divert public dollars to private vouchers. Teachers are at the heart of our communities and our schools, and Luke believes in competitive pay for teachers so that they can stay and thrive in the profession. As part of the fight for the necessary resources for all our schools, Luke will also champion career and technical training, apprenticeships, and pathways to good-paying local jobs.
Stand Up For Unions and Workers
Luke is a union member and comes from a union family – his dad and uncles were IUOE Local 49, his grandparents were USW, and his grandma was a union steward for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union. Luke will always stand up for workers’ rights to organize, bargain collectively and earn fair wages and benefits. He’ll work to bring back good-paying and union jobs in the industries that power Northern Minnesota, like mining and healthcare – so the area can continue to prosper and grow. Luke will also work to expand job opportunities by attracting innovative industries and investing in underrepresented sectors like technology and film, helping diversify the local economy. When workers do well, our entire economy does well.
Address the Healthcare Crisis
Luke will champion high-quality, affordable, and accessible healthcare for all. Right now, our politicians are raising health insurance premiums in order to cut taxes for billionaires, slashing Medicaid and Medicare benefits, and with it, destroying our rural hospitals and clinics. While people pay more for fewer and further choices, healthcare executives make big bonuses. Luke will fight to lower health care costs and prescription drug prices, limit how much people have to pay out-of-pocket for essential medications, and cap compensation for healthcare executives.
Fight Corruption Among Elites
Right now, Members of Congress and the Trump Administration are cashing in on insider information while working people have to make choices about what bills to pay. Corporations and special interests buy votes to rig the system in their favor, keeping health care costs high while handing out tax breaks to themselves and their billionaire buddies. Luke supports prohibiting Members of Congress from trading stocks and ending the revolving door by banning them from becoming lobbyists and cashing in on their public service. Luke will vote to get dark money out of our politics so that special interests can no longer try to buy elected officials.