Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - September 26, 2007)

By Mr. SANDERS:

S. 2094. A bill to increase the wages and benefits of blue collar workers by strengthening labor provisions in the H-2B program, to provide for labor recruiter accountability, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Increasing American Wages and Benefits Act of 2007.

Since 2000, key economic indicators confirm that the economic security of Americans is moving in the wrong direction: nearly 5 million more Americans are living in poverty; nonelderly household income has declined by nearly $2,500; over 3 million manufacturing jobs have been lost; and 8.6 million more Americans are without health insurance. While the rich have gotten richer, every other income group over the past 7 years has lost ground economically, with the middle class and working families losing the most.

The Increasing American Wages and Benefits Act would begin to reverse this downward economic trend for workers employed in construction, forestry, ski resorts, stone quarries, asphalt paving, hotels, restaurants, landscaping, housekeeping and many other industries by reforming the H-2B guest-worker program.

Under current law and existing Federal regulations, employers applying for H-2B visas must first certify that capable U.S. workers are not available, efforts were made to recruit U.S. workers for these positions first, and the employment of guest workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

As documented by the AFL-CIO, Change to Win, the Southern Poverty Law Center and other groups, the H-2B program is frequently used by employers to drive down the wages and benefits of U.S. workers, while cheating H-2B workers out of earned benefits. These abuses have clearly undermined the legislative and regulatory intent of this temporary guest-worker program.

The Increasing American Wages and Benefits Act would reform the H-2B program to ensure that workers receive the wages and benefits they deserve and prevent employers from abusing the system.

Specifically, this legislation: requires employers to do a much better job at recruiting American workers first at higher wages before being able to hire H-2B guest-workers; provides the Department of Labor with the explicit authority to enforce labor law violations pertaining to the H-2B program; allows workers who have been directly and adversely affected by the H-2B program to have their day in court against unscrupulous employers; prohibits companies that have announced mass lay-offs within the past year from hiring H-2B guest-workers.

Allows the Legal Services Corporation to provide the same legal services to H-2B workers as it provides to H-2A workers; requires employers to pay for the transportation expenses for H-2B guest workers both to the United States and back to their country of origin once the employment period ends; and provides other important protections for H-2B guest-workers.

This legislation improves and strengthens the H-2B program so that it can be used by employers during emergency labor shortages, while increasing the wages and benefits for both American workers and guest-workers.

I am proud that the Increasing American Wages and Benefits Act has the strong support of the AFL-CIO; the Service Employees International Union, SEIU; the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; the Southern Poverty Law Center; the Building and Construction Trades Department; the Laborers' International Union of North America; the United Food and Commercial Workers; the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; the Alliance of Forest Workers and Harvesters; the United Farmworkers of America; and the Farmworkers Support Committee.

I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the RECORD letters of support.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

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