South Dakotans earn lower average salaries that wage earners in any other state. In fact, South Dakota has the highest rate of households in the entire country, where one person must work multiple jobs or both parents must work to make ends meet. Indeed, South Dakotan families have long endured stagnant wage growth, reduced benefits, and increasing job insecurity. These indignities must be reversed. State government must commit to protect workers’ rights and expand employee benefits, including affordable health insurance, safe work environments, and workers’ compensation. State Government must leverage it’s economic tools to create good-paying jobs that attract and retain workers here at home without sacrificing their economic security. And we must ensure that workers in the public and private sector can offer their voice without fear of intimidation or retribution. Our workers fuel the engines of our economy. They deserve the right policies that recognize their efforts.