A key U.S. Senate committee this week gave its approval to a package of labor bills that reflect some of the long-term priorities of Senator Bernie Sanders.
When Sanders became chairman of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee in January, he vowed to have the panel focus on issues to help reduce income inequality.
This week, the committee gave its approval to a package of bills that would make it easier for workers to form a union, provide seven days of sick leave to all workers, and include new enforcement tools to prosecute cases of gender wage discrimination.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Sanders urged his colleagues to support these bills.
"If these bills are signed into law, they would represent the most significant set of labor reforms in the modern history of our country and significantly improve the lives of many millions of American workers."
If the Senate votes for these bills in the coming months, they will face a very uncertain future in the Republican-controlled House.
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