Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Worker Rights
Senior Lawmakers Introduce Sweeping Reforms to Black Lung Benefits Program
11.20.14 WASHINGTON-Senior Democrats from the House and Senate today proposed sweeping reforms to the federal program that provides benefits to coal miners suffering from black lung disease. Federal law requires that coal companies compensate disabled miners who contract black lung, which is caused by inhaling coal dust over an extended period of time, but coal companies routinely deploy an array of unfair tactics to avoid paying miners the benefits they deserve. To help level the playing field for mine… Continue Reading
House Dems Urge U.S. Businesses to Combat Gender-Based Violence in the Workplace
10.23.14 Senior Democratic lawmakers today called upon U.S. businesses to help fight gender-based violence—one of the most widespread human rights violations—in workplaces around the world and across industries. A group of 35 House Democrats sent a letter to the United States Council on International Business (USCIB), urging the group to support the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) proposed standards against workplace violence and abuse. Earlier this year, members of Congress sent a letter aski… Continue Reading
Miller Applauds President Obama’s Action on Behalf of Workers
07.31.14 WASHINGTON, D.C.-President Barack Obama today signed a new Executive Order to bolster worker protections in the federal contracting system. The Executive Order requires prospective federal contractors to disclose labor law violations and gives agencies more guidance on how to consider labor violations when awarding federal contracts. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democratic member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, made the following statement: "Today, the Presid… Continue Reading
Miller, Harkin, Warren, DeLauro Introduce Legislation to Establish Fair Work Scheduling Practices
07.22.14 WASHINGTON—In response to recent workplace trends and research that suggests uncertain work schedules can have dire consequences for working families, leading Democratic members of Congress today introduced legislation to stem abusive scheduling practices that are directed primarily at hourly workers. In some of the economy’s fastest-growing and lowest-paying industries—including the retail, food service, and janitorial sectors—workers face erratic and irregular work schedules. Ever-changing, o… Continue Reading
Miller: Democrats’ Top Priority is to Jumpstart the Middle Class
07.16.14 WASHINGTON, D.C.—House Democrats today announced their new “Middle Class Jumpstart” economic agenda, a legislative action plan to ensure prosperity and opportunity for all Americans. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, who helped to formulate the policies in the plan, released the following statement. “The deck is stacked against American middle class families, but, tragically, Washington Republicans continue to stack that deck in f… Continue Reading
Miller: State Aid Concession by Tennessee Officials a Victory for VW Workers
07.14.14 WASHINGTON-Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statement in response to the news that the state of Tennessee will provide a $165.8 million grant to expand a Volkswagen manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and an additional $12 million for training new employees. "It is welcome news that Tennessee officials have agreed to provide state aid for expanding operations at Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant,… Continue Reading
Miller: Creation of New Works Council in Chattanooga a Win for VW, Employees, and Supporters of Workers’ Rights
07.10.14 WASHINGTON-Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statement today in response to the news that the United Auto Workers will create a works council to represent workers at a Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee. "Volkswagen, the employees at Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant, and supporters of workers' rights everywhere all have cause to celebrate. Today's announcement is particularly hearten… Continue Reading
Levin, Miller Joint Statement on Bangladesh GSP Action Plan Review
07.02.14 WASHINGTON - Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) and Education and the Workforce Committee Senior Democrat George Miller (D-CA) today issued the following joint statement in response to USTR's six month review of the progress Bangladesh has made in implementing the Action Plan laid out in June 2013, when President Obama suspended the country's Generalized System of Preferences: "We support USTR's findings regarding Bangladesh's implementation of the Action Plan. Banglade… Continue Reading
Senior Dem Lawmakers Call on Bangladesh to Address Unfair Labor Practices and Anti-Union Violence
07.02.14 WASHINGTON-Senior U.S. lawmakers this week called on the prime minister of Bangladesh to address unfair labor practices and violence against union activists in the country's garment industry. The Bangladeshi minister of commerce and the head of the nation's garment industry have recently called for the criminal prosecution of a union leader for sharing information with the U.S. Congress about a particular case of anti-union violence and harassment of garment workers. In a letter sent to Prime M… Continue Reading
Levin, Waxman, Miller Statements on Hobby Lobby Decision
06.30.14 WASHINGTON - The ranking members of the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and the Workforce Committees today issued statements in response to the Supreme Court decision in the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, allowing some for-profit corporations to exclude contraception coverage in their employees' insurance plans: Rep. Sander Levin: "Today's Supreme Court ruling undermines a woman's right to make health decisions that are best for her and her family. This ruling not only limit… Continue Reading
Miller: Harris v. Quinn Decision Ignores Realities of Modern Workplace
06.30.14 WASHINGTON-Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statement today in response to the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Harris v. Quinn, in which the Court ruled that in-home health care workers in Illinois who are paid by the state are not similar enough to full-fledged government employees to be compelled to pay union dues. "It is unfortunate and discouraging that the Supreme Court disregarded both 40… Continue Reading
EEOC Remains Critical to Stopping Workplace Discrimination, Subcommittee Learns
06.10.14 WASHINGTON-Fifty years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, there remains a substantial, ongoing need to combat discrimination and advance civil rights in the workplace, members of the House Education and the Workforce Committee learned at a hearing on the Equality Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today. "The foundation of our civil rights laws is to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to participate in and contribute to society, while being able to provide for themselv… Continue Reading
153 House Democrats to USTR Froman: Protect Workers’ Rights in TPP Negotiations
05.29.14 WASHINGTON, DC-More than 150 House Democrats today called on United States Trade Representative Michael Froman to do more to protect and strengthen international workers' rights as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. Led by Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.), Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), 153 Democratic Representatives sent a letter to Ambassador Froman asking that the ongoing TPP negotiations include an enhanced framework for pr… Continue Reading
House Leaders Call on Colombian President To Investigate Recent Bombing, Protect Worker Safety
05.15.14 WASHINGTON—In light of recent violence against workers throughout Colombia, today leaders from the U.S. House of Representatives asked the Colombian government to investigate the recent bombing of a public sector union’s headquarters in the industrial Colombian city of Cali and to further safeguard workers’ rights. Members of the Congressional Monitoring Group on Labor Rights in Colombia, which is charged with overseeing the implementation of the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement’s (FTA) provi… Continue Reading
College Athletes Unionizing for Basic Health and Safety Protections, Witnesses Tell Committee
05.08.14 WASHINGTON-College athletes lack many basic health and safety protections, which has spurred them to band together to seek union representation and generate policy changes, members learned at a Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing today. The hearing explored the issues faced by today's college athletes, who are key figures in the multi-million-dollar collegiate sports business and find that the 40 to 50 hours a week that they must dedicate to numerous sports-related practices and te… Continue Reading
Miller, Levin Urge Bangladeshi Government to Improve Working Conditions
04.22.14 WASHINGTON - Today, in anticipation of tomorrow’s one-year anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh, Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sandy Levin (D-MI) and Committee on Education and the Workforce Senior Democratic Member George Miller (D-CA) sent a letter to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urging improved conditions for the country’s workers. The letter outlines specific labor issues that have yet to be addressed by the Bangladeshi government as part of the Labor Act… Continue Reading
Committee Democrats Open Inquiry into Tennessee State Officials’ Potential Interference with Federal Labor Rights
04.16.14 WASHINGTON-Leading House Democrats today began an inquiry to assess whether Tennessee state officials may have violated or otherwise run afoul of federal law by undermining, or attempting to undermine, labor rights guaranteed to workers at a Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, during the recent United Auto Workers union election. Committee Democratic Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and John Tierney (D-Mass.), ranking … Continue Reading
Committee Democrats Force Votes on Priority Legislation to Help Workers and Families, Republicans Reject Proposals
04.09.14 WASHINGTON-Committee Democrats today forced votes on multiple pieces of priority legislation to help workers and families during a committee markup of two union-busting Republican bills. As Committee Republicans focused on moving highly partisan bills with no hope of becoming law, senior committee Democrat Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) led efforts to pass legislation, including the Fair Minimum Wage Act, the Paycheck Fairness Act, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and the Robert C. Byrd Min… Continue Reading
Raise the Minimum Wage and Pass Paycheck Fairness to Help Restore Equal Pay for Equal Work, Says Miller
04.08.14 WASHINGTON-Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement today to mark Equal Pay Day, which reflects how far into the current year women must work to match what men earned in the previous year: "Today, too many Americans are seeing their hard work go unrewarded because of circumstances beyond their control. Many women know this struggle all too well. Women in this country face a pay gap that means they earn 23 … Continue Reading
Colombian Workers Continue to Face Widespread Violence, Human Rights Violations, Members of Congress Hear From New Report
04.07.14 WASHINGTON—Three years to the day after the U.S.-Colombia Labor Action Plan (LAP) was signed, workers in Colombia remain repressed through widespread violence and other human rights violations, according to a new report. The National Labor School (ENS) found that the limited reforms agreed to as part of the LAP have failed to produce meaningful results in protecting Colombian workers’ internationally recognized rights, including the right to be free from threats and violence, or in prosecuting r… Continue Reading