[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 97 (Thursday, July 10, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H5027]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            UNION SUMMER VIOLATES FEDERAL WAGE AND HOUR LAWS

  (Mr. BALLENGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BALLENGER. Last year Mr. Speaker, the AFL-CIO offered 
approximately 1,000 3-week summer internship jobs to college students, 
who received a weekly stipend of $210 for their work. They called it 
the union summer. From press accounts it appeared that some of the 
students worked an average of 76 hours per week for an hourly rate of 
$2.76 per hour. This arrangement, if true, is a violation of the 
Federal wage and hour laws.
  In October 1996, I requested the Department of Labor to investigate 
these alleged violations. The Department of Labor said they are looking 
into the matter, but after numerous letters and telephone calls over 
the last 8 months, the Department refuses to provide me with specific 
information about the case.
  A new union summer program is under way right now in 1997, with 
thousands of college students participating around the country. The 
Department of Labor should do everything in its power to ensure that 
appropriate Federal wage and hour laws are fully enforced, regardless 
of the identity of the employer.
  I am continuing to press the Department of Labor to promptly report 
on its investigation because I fear that similar transgressions, if 
left unchecked, could occur again with this union summer program this 
summer.

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