Chairman George Miller Statement on Labor Day
WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, released the following statement in honor of Labor Day.
“Labor Day is a time to reflect on the achievements of the American worker and our nation’s commitment to helping all families pursue the American Dream. However, Labor Day 2009 comes at a difficult time for most Americans. Since the recession began nearly two years ago, seven million people have lost their jobs and millions more are working fewer hours, at lower wages with disappearing benefits. Even those with a good job are worried that they may be next on the chopping block.
“For too long, our nation’s workers have been battered by stagnant wages and an indifferent Bush administration unresponsive to their needs and rights in the workplace. Last year, Americans demanded a change and we are working every day to bring that change on behalf of the hard-working men and women who make our country great.
“The Obama administration has committed to work with Congress to rebuild our nation’s middle class by ensuring that all Americans can work in safe and healthy environment, and are able to share in the prosperity they help create. In just a few short months, the 111th Congress and Obama administration have begun to undo many of the harmful policies of the Bush administration and made real progress to improve the lives of the average worker.
“While there are glimmers of hope that our nation’s economy is beginning to turn around, full recovery is going to take time. That’s why it is vitally important that we continue to make investments on behalf of workers’ future. The only road to a sustainable economic recovery and vibrant middle class is the high road -- truly respecting Americans’ hard work and contributions to the nation’s success by ensuring they receive decent pay, safe working conditions, and dignity and rights on the job.”
Here are just some of the accomplishments that Congress and the Obama administration made on behalf of American workers:
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (enacted January 29, 2009)
The first major piece of legislation President Obama signed ensured that women and other workers who receive discriminatory pay have access to a remedy. The new law reversed the May 2007 Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear and restored prior law which treated each discriminatory paycheck received by a worker as a violation of the Civil Rights Act. As long as workers file their charges within 180 days of a discriminatory paycheck, their claims for a remedy would be considered timely.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (enacted February 17, 2009)
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has begun to rebuild our economy by creating or saving 3 to 4 million jobs – including hundreds of thousands of jobs in the education sector – and provide workers with the training and skills they need to succeed in green and other emerging industries. In addition to creating jobs in other sectors of our economy, education investments in the legislation will save or boost job growth well into the future.
Affordable Health Care Coverage for Laid-off Workers (enacted as part of the Recovery Act)
A provision in the Recovery Act will assist 7 million people laid off in this recession with the cost of their health insurance coverage. To help people maintain their health coverage, the bill provides a 65 percent subsidy for COBRA premiums for up to 9 months for people who were involuntarily separated from their jobs between 9/1/08 and 12/31/09.
Increase the Minimum Wage (July 24, 2009)
The national minimum wage increased by 70 cents per hour – from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour – the final of three increases to take effect under legislation enacted by the Democratic Congress. This last increase gave 4.5 million workers a badly needed boost in their pay.
Protecting Workers’ Wages (announced March 25, 2009)
As a result increased funding in the Recovery Act, the Department of Labor announced that the agency plans on hiring 250 investigators for its Wage and Hour Division. A Government Accountability Office investigation found many investigations of wage theft, in which workers are not paid minimum wages or not paid at all, were inadequately handled by the Bush administration’s Wage and Hour Division, which had been starved of staff and resources.
Withdrawing Last-Minute Bush Proposal to Weaken Worker Health & Safety Protections (Announced May 15, 2009)
The Department of Labor announced that they will withdraw a Bush era proposal that would have dramatically weakened future workplace health and safety regulations and slow their enactment. The Washington Post reported that a proposal being developed by Bush political appointees in secret with little consultation with career agency health and safety experts would have added additional red tape to an already slow regulatory process.
Restore Workers’ Rights in Federal Contracts (Jan. 30, 2009)
President Obama overturned three Bush administration executive orders and reaffirmed that the interests of hard working Americans will not take a back seat to corporations and CEOs. Overturning these three Bush-era orders is an important step to restore a rational balance regarding the rights of employees in the workplace.
As we move forward, Congress and the Obama administration are working on a number of priorities on behalf of American workers including:
- Ensure all Americans have access to quality, affordable health insurance coverage
- Remove barriers that deny workers the ability to join together and bargain for a better life
- Protect workers’ pensions and retirement savings
- Encourage family-friendly work policies to help families balance home and work duties
- Strengthen workplace health and safety protections
- Make additional investments to continue building a green economy and a competitive workforce
- Reinvigorate the Department of Labor’s ability to protect workers’ wages, benefits, safety and health and enforce the laws on the books
- Protect workers from discrimination while on the job
- Ensure sufficient legal protections for workers when they blow the whistle on illegal employer actions
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