Issue Position: Labor and Working Families
Issue Position
As Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus, which includes 87 Members of Congress, Congressman Lynch believes that all employees have the right to a safe workplace and a decent wage so Americans can provide for themselves and their families. Congressman Lynch believes that our government has a fundamental obligation to ensure that all Americans enjoy a decent standard of living.
Minimum Wage
Thirty-seven million Americans, twelve million of whom are children, live in poverty in the United States. A critical factor in this alarming increase in poverty is the decline in the real value of the minimum wage. In fact, over the last 25 years, the number of full-time workers living in poverty has doubled.
The Federal Minimum Wage rate has remained stagnant at $5.15 an hour for more than a decade. For this reason, Congressman Lynch addressed his colleagues on the floor of the House of Representatives in support of The Fair Minimum Wage Act (H.R. 2), a bill that would increase the minimum wage by $2.10 over a two year period. Although this vote was a significant victory for minimum wage earners nationwide, Congressman Lynch believes we must continue to fight to increase the minimum wage in order to provide hard-working Americans with the wages they truly deserve.
The Right to Organize
In March 2007 Congressman Lynch and his colleagues in Congress won a significant battle with the passage of a bill that provides employees the right to organize. Initially introduced in November 2003, the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007 (H.R. 800), allows employees to freely organize and form a unified voice with their coworkers. In the past, employers have utilized forms of intimidation to prevent employees from expressing their true beliefs on whether they would like to form a union. As a former Ironworker and current union member, Congressman Lynch urged his colleagues to support this important piece of legislation that would provide employees with the right to join together and bargain on their own behalf.
National Labor Relations Board Decisions
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) is administered and enforced by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which is an independent federal agency consisting of a five-member Board and a General Counsel. The Board resolves objections and challenges to secret ballot elections. It also hears appeals of unfair labor practices and resolves questions about the composition of bargaining units. The General Counsel conducts secret ballot elections, investigates complaints of unfair labor practices, and supervises the NLRB's regional and other field offices.
During the 109th Congress, the NLRB struck a major blow to working men and women with a decision that opened the door for employers to classify millions of workers as supervisors. Under federal labor law, supervisors are prohibited from forming unions.
In the 110th Congress, Congressman Lynch cosponsored The Re-Empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradeworkers (RESPECT) Act (H.R. 1644). This bill would reverse the decision of the National Labor Relations Board by amending the National Labor Relations Act to clarify the definition of "supervisor." In effect, this legislation will protect the 8 million targeted employees who previously lost the option to join a union.
Prevailing Wage
Throughout his tenure in the House of Representatives, Congressman Lynch has worked to ensure that prevailing wage rates be paid to employees working on federally-funded or assisted construction projects. In September 2005, the Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus sent a joint letter condemning President Bush's rescission of the Davis-Bacon Act in Gulf Coast areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina, requesting an immediate reversal of the decision. Bush's executive order allowed federal contractors rebuilding in the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi to pay workers at rates below the prevailing wage. Thankfully, after much public pressure and scrutiny, the President rescinded his order in October of 2005.
In addition, in the 110th Congress, Congressman Lynch voted in favor of The Water Quality Financing Act (H.R. 720), legislation stipulating that in order to receive federal funds for local water projects, contractors must pay prevailing local wages and benefits to their employees.
Source