[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 159 (Wednesday, October 28, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H7319-H7322]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FOCUSING ON WORKING FAMILIES
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman)
is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
General Leave
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous materials on the subject of this Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, about 1 year ago, Speaker Boehner
and Senate Majority Leader McConnell described a vision for the 114th
Congress. It included ``focusing first on jobs and the economy.'' They
looked forward to helping middle class Americans ``frustrated by an
increasing lack of opportunity, the stagnation of wages, and a
government that seems incapable of performing even basic tasks.''
In the time since, they have done nothing but protect big businesses
enjoy record profits, attack immigrants, and help polluters continue
the destruction of our environment.
This body has voted four times in support of the Confederate battle
flag, but we have taken no votes on legislation that will level the
playing field for
[[Page H7320]]
working Americans. This body has voted against a solid, long-term
transportation and infrastructure bill five times, and we have taken no
votes on legislation to boost American wages. This body has voted
countless times to undermine the Affordable Care Act or endanger
women's access to health care, but we have taken no votes on
legislation to help families balance the needs of work and their
personal lives. That is in spite of statements from Members like the
Republican nominee for Speaker who just last week indicated he wouldn't
run for the position unless he would be allowed to set aside time to
spend with his family.
Mr. Speaker, my colleagues and I are here on the floor tonight to
call for a shift in focus. We were elected to ensure everyday Americans
have a fighting chance and opportunities to succeed. We need to change
gears to get to work on an agenda for working families. We need to pass
legislation that would give workers the ability to balance work and
family needs, bills like the Healthy Families Act, the Family and
Medical Insurance Leave Act, the Schedules That Work Act, and the
Strong Start for America's Children Act. We need to pass legislation
that will give workers paychecks that actually give them a chance to
make ends meet, bills like the Raise the Wage Act, the WAGE Act, and
the Payroll Fraud Prevention Act.
We need to pass legislation that will give every American a chance to
succeed and climb into the middle class regardless of gender, sexual
orientation, or any other quality, bills like the Paycheck Fairness
Act, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and the Equality Act.
Tonight, Mr. Speaker, you will hear stories from across the country
of working families who have played by the rules and worked for long
hours and still can't seem to make it work. These experiences are
shared with countless others from my district in New Jersey all the way
across the Nation to California.
I hope that my colleagues are ready to listen, and, more importantly,
I hope they are ready to act.
It is my pleasure to yield to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr.
Ellison).
Mr. ELLISON. I would like to thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I
also would like to thank the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson
Coleman) for her tireless support of the progressive message and her
long work in New Jersey, but also here in Congress. Thank you, ma'am.
Mr. Speaker, Working Families Day of Action, the day when we came
together to talk about the agenda for working people, is a far cry from
what my Republican colleagues like to talk about on a daily basis. But
working people in this country need an advocate; they need somebody in
Congress to care.
I want to tell a quick story about a young lady in my district. Her
name is Randa Jama, and she is a member of SEIU Local 26, who took a
job as a wheelchair attendant at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport
last fall with AirServ, a Delta Airlines subcontractor. It was supposed
to be a full-time position, but her employer suddenly cut her hours to
only 12 hours a week. She explains to me: ``They told me that you are
working only Saturday and Sunday from now on.'' Her supervisors would
still sometimes ask her at the last minute to stay late or do an extra
shift, but she can't work at such short notice even though she needs
the hours because it is hard to get access to babysitters. She is a
young mom.
Now, on behalf of Randa Jama and many other people, I just want to
make a few reflections here today, and that is that things are
absolutely out of balance. They are out of balance, and the gap between
rich and everybody else is wider now than it has been in decades; and
working people, consumers, and environmental advocates are starting to
come together to demand good jobs and shared prosperity.
The story today is not necessarily about income inequality. We all
know that. But what we may not know is how Americans all over this
country are moving, shaking, and doing what they need to do. Whether it
is the workers of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers or whether it is
WorkingAmerica or whether it is the people in the labor movement, the
Fight for $15, people all over this country--Americans--are not taking
this situation lying down.
We are here today to talk about what working families need and what
they are doing. They face stagnating wages and struggle to balance the
demands at home and on the job. I am very pleased that when it was
announced that Paul Ryan, our colleague, was considering accepting the
role of Speaker of the House, he insisted that he would have proper
work-life balance and was not going to give up home time. I hope that
is a signal that we can pursue a shared agenda of the work-life balance
for all families all across America.
Too many lack access to paid sick leave and affordable child care.
For workers who don't have a reliable work schedule, it is often
impossible to plan and to pay for child care, rent, transportation, and
groceries. People are not working enough hours in many cases, and when
they get those hours, they often have to choose between leaving their
kids at home or taking the hours that they so desperately need. Workers
are seeing their right to organize erode.
Here is another opportunity to tell you a good story, which is true,
about a friend named Kipp Hedges. Kipp Hedges worked as a baggage
handler for 25 years for Delta. He did an awesome job day in and day
out and was a member of his union. The people at the Minneapolis-Saint
Paul Airport said: Hey, we want to form a union.
The people who pushed the wheelchairs, the folks who drive the
disabled around the airport, and the folks who clean up the airport
wanted a union. He said: Well, that is a good effort, and I want to
support it.
He got fired. He got fired.
A lot of people who try to organize unions today get fired for
engaging in union activity. That is wrong, and it is against the
National Labor Relations Act, but people get fired for it anyway. The
fact is it takes them a long time to ever get any kind of satisfaction.
In the mid-1950s, you should note that the percentage of workers
belonging to unions was about 33 percent. But between 1973 and 2007,
private sector union membership plummeted all the way down from about
33, 34 percent down to about 8 percent for men and about from 16
percent to 6 percent for women. It is a devastating situation.
We all know that when people are in unions they make more. People of
color in unions make more than people of color not in unions. Women in
unions make more money than women not in unions. Even White men in
unions, working men, make more money than White men not in unions. The
union factor makes a big difference.
The decline is estimated to explain at least one-third of the growth
in wage inequality among men and one-fifth of the growth in wage
inequality among women. The decline of union density has resulted
directly in Americans of all backgrounds having less money in their
paychecks.
Now, the American economy is growing. This is the richest country in
the world, and it is actually doing pretty well. But the share of that
growth has only been going to the very richest few, and it has not been
distributed equally.
This is a pivotal moment in our history, and Americans are stepping
up to do something about it. We can see clearly now that tax cuts for
big corporations won't help working people. We hear all the time, day
in and day out, that if you cut taxes for the wealthy and you don't
make them obey any health and safety rules, then they will use all that
extra money to start businesses, buy inventory, start plants, and buy
equipment, and that will give the rest of us jobs. That kind of
philosophy has a name. It is called trickle-down economics. It doesn't
work now, and it didn't work then. It never works. As a matter of fact,
Americans all over are starting to see that a tax cut for a big
corporation or a wealthy individual and allowing them to abandon health
and safety rules is not going to benefit anybody but them. In fact, it
is going to hurt us quite a bit.
Mr. Speaker, we know that deregulation won't help consumers, and we
know that it is not going to help the environment. It will leave our
consumers at the tender mercies of the business community, and it will
leave our communities at the tender mercy of polluters. We can't afford
that.
Things are radically out of balance, and working people, consumers,
and
[[Page H7321]]
environmental advocates need to band together to push back for shared
prosperity. We in Congress need to stand with them. One thing we can do
is support policies and priorities outlined in the Day of Action. One
thing we can do is stand in support of the policy priorities outlined
in this Working Families Day of Action, #workingfamilies. We in
Congress need to stand with them.
Today we are highlighting bills that would: one, raise wages; two,
protect the right to unionize and organize; three, increase access to
paid sick leave, family leave, and affordable child care; and, four,
promote fair scheduling at the workplace and fight workplace
discrimination.
Let me just mention a few steps before I turn it over. On the issue
of fair scheduling, this is a big deal. There are more than 23 million
workers in low-wage jobs, and two-thirds of these workers are women.
Workers in these jobs often face schedules that are rigid,
unpredictable, and unstable, which can make it impossible to
successfully juggle responsibilities on and off the job.
I just want to say to any small business who worries about fair
scheduling: We want to be in conversation with you. We want to talk it
out and work it out. We know that sometimes things do come up in
unexpected ways. But for sure, we can discuss, as Americans, how to
work out a schedule that is a family-friendly schedule and that meets
the needs of the business. What we have now is a completely
unpredictable environment where people are left either choosing between
leaving their kids at home or abandoning those hours that are
available.
I also want to mention something about unions. A typical union worker
makes 30 percent more than a nonunion worker. This is a fact. The
companies they work for are thriving and growing. There are tons of
union companies all over this country that are making a lot of money.
The question is: How big is the CEO's bonus? If we can have some union
representation, the company can thrive, but the workers can share in
that thriving. Right now, workers are eking a living hand to mouth and
paycheck to paycheck, and the CEO bonuses are out of control.
{time} 1830
Unionized African American workers make 36 percent more than
nonunionized African Americans. Unionized Hispanic women make 46
percent more than nonunionized Hispanic women.
Let me just wrap up with a little quick story because this really is
about people, Mr. Speaker. It is about people. It is not just about the
stats. It is about people.
This is a worker who was required to have open availability and still
can't get the hours. She is required to get open availability and still
can't get the hours. Her name is Jill, and she works for JCPenney.
She writes:
My name is Jill Ernst. When I interviewed at JCPenney in
Minnesota, part of how I got the job was that I had to have a
very flexible schedule.
I was open all 7 days of the week, but now they only give
me less than 35 hours. If they give me less than 34.5 hours,
it's a struggle to pay rent and my bills. If they put me on
the schedule for 28 hours, I have to figure out how to
convince my manager to give me more hours or find someone who
is willing to give up hours.
My schedule is so inconsistent that, if I need to take paid
time off for 1 day, I know that I'll have to take the entire
week off or I'll be scheduled a bunch of short days and not
be paid for that 1 day off.
Mr. Speaker, we need to stand up for working families, who had a day
of action yesterday: #workingfamilies. We know there is inequality. We
know the wages have stagnated. We know that it is tough out there for
working Americans.
But working Americans aren't sitting around taking it on the chin.
They are out there demanding a fair share of this economy, and Congress
should stand there with them.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Mr. Ellison,
who has been a very strong and consistent voice on behalf of all
working families and, indeed, all of those that are least among us
couldn't have a better advocate.
I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I want to start by thanking
Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman for organizing this evening.
Many members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus I hope will be
coming down and joining us this evening for a tribute to this Working
Families Day of Action, the Working Families Agenda. Mrs. Watson
Coleman listed some of the bills that we have on that agenda.
The problems that working families are facing are not intractable. We
know that many working women and men are struggling today, but these
problems are not unsurmountable. In fact, they could be solved
relatively easily if the Republican majority would work with us to pass
legislation that would bring U.S. labor policies in line with the rest
of the industrialized world. We have the legislation. We have the
public support. We just need action.
One solution, which my colleague, Mr. Ellison, mentioned is to allow
workers to join unions. We know that union members earn more and have
better benefits. A study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research
found that unionized women earn, on average, $2.50 more per hour, are
36 percent more likely to have an employ-sponsored benefit plan and 18
percent more likely to have paid sick leave.
Last week I visited with some O'Hare airport workers who came to
Washington, baggage handlers, passenger transporters--the people who
push the wheelchairs--and others. They are hired by contractors like
Prospect Company.
Now, they are wearing uniforms, and it looks to me like they are
hired by either the airline or the airport. But, no, they are hired by
a private contractor. They don't have paid sick leave or health
insurance. One woman in the group earned only $8.25 an hour after 14
years on the job.
One of their colleagues suffered a miscarriage after her employer
refused to give her light duty. The next time she became pregnant, they
offered her light duty, but only if she agreed to work only one
afternoon a week.
Unionized workers have a different experience. One of the workers in
the group was a cabin cleaner hired by Skyline, a union company. He
earned fair wages, a pension, and benefits.
We know that these problems can be solved. But I want to talk a
little bit about how unstable work schedules contribute to the chaotic
life of many workers by telling you about Tanya in a letter I received.
My name is Tanya and I work in an assembly line in a frigid
36-degree warehouse chopping lettuce and other items to
create grab'n'go foods destined for display cases in
Starbucks, Costco, and Walmart.
I never know much in advance which days I will work, which
hours, or even how long my shift will last. Sometimes I may
be scheduled for an 8-hour shift, but get only 4 hours of
work because my line's order is completed early. Other times
I am at work and on my feet for 12 hours.
The unpredictability of my schedule makes it impossible for
me to go back to school, which I desperately want to do,
because I can't commit to any class schedule. I can't even
plan a budget for rent, food or transportation because I have
no idea how much money I will make in any given month.
It is terrible when I finish the order early and am sent
home without working my full shift. It is even worse when I
punch out and hear my supervisor say, ``We don't need you
tomorrow.'' My heart sinks. It is the last thing I want to
hear. I only make $9.25 an hour and sometimes I get only 25
hours a week. That isn't even enough to pay my rent.
These are stories that all of us in this Congress need to hear, to
digest, to understand what the life of people in our districts is like,
and we need to offer solutions that can improve their lives.
They work hard. They are not asking for much. They want good
schedules. They want fair wages. They want some benefits. And, yes,
even a little retirement security would be good. We could do that. We
are the richest country in the world at the richest moment in history.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman
from Illinois. She is always a progressive voice and no greater
advocate can we have.
I am now delighted to yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Scott), someone who has been a friend for a very long time and whose
work I respect and admire tremendously.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Watson Coleman for
all of her work, particularly the work she has done in New Jersey when
she was in the State legislature and now in
[[Page H7322]]
Congress. I want to thank the Congressional caucus for holding this
Special Order on the Working Families Agenda.
Since the Republicans took over the House in January 2011, they have
held hearing after hearing to make it harder for workers to form a
union, they have attempted over 60 times to repeal the Affordable Care
Act, they have been giving tax cuts to the wealthy, and all that time
they have been wasting millions of dollars on the Benghazi Committee.
Enough is enough. The American people deserve better. We know that
families across America are struggling to make ends meet. Today I am
calling on my colleagues across the aisle to get to work on the
responsible solutions that hardworking Americans want and need,
solutions that would boost wages, help workers achieve a better balance
between work and family, and level the playing field so all workers can
get a fair shot at success. This is the Working Families Agenda.
This agenda would help workers like India Ford, who is from my
district. During the Working Families Day of Action yesterday, she
spoke to Members about how she worked nights and weekends for nearly a
dozen years in the restaurant industry. As a single mom, this meant not
being home for her child to help her with her homework, missing PTA
meetings, and not being able to spend time with her daughter before she
went to bed.
Finally, she got a new job at a new restaurant with a manager who
offered to give her a schedule that worked for her family. And do you
know what she did? She selected the lunch shift. This simple change was
profound because now she is at home with her daughter at night. She is
able to attend school events and able to help with homework.
But basic protections like fair schedules and paid sick leaves
shouldn't depend on winning the boss lottery. They should be
fundamental rights of every American.
Today workers are more productive than ever, but it has been a long
time since most people got a raise. We need to pass legislation to
raise the minimum wage. We also need to improve the National Labor
Relations Act because, when workers try to organize and form a union to
negotiate for a fair share, more than one-third of the time somebody
gets fired during the organizational drive.
It is time to strengthen the National Labor Relations Act so that
employers might think twice before they retaliate. That is what the
Workplace Action for a Growing Economy, or the WAGE Act, would do.
We need to help workers better balance work and family. We need
Federal paid sick days and paid family and medical leave laws, which 80
percent of the public supports. Workers need flexible schedules,
schedules that work.
It is also past time that we level the playing field so that all
working families have a fair shot. It is shameful that, in 2015,
discrimination still shuts many workers out of good-paying jobs.
No family should live in fear of a breadwinner being fired for being
gay, but Federal law still does not provide explicit workplace
protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Working people deserve more than just a paycheck. They deserve a decent
life. It is time to rewrite the rules to make the economy work for
everybody.
Democrats stand ready to take up responsible solutions, like the
Working Families Agenda, to boost wages, help workers balance family
and work, and level the playing field by eliminating discrimination so
that everybody has a fair shot.
In honor of National Work and Family Month, on Thursday, we will
introduce a resolution calling on Congress to hold hearings and votes
on the Working Families Agenda.
We already have 90 cosponsors on the resolution, and we won't stop
there. For as long as it takes, we will continue to call on our
colleagues across the aisle to take up the responsible policies that
will help people make a better life for themselves and their families.
Again, I want to thank Mrs. Watson Coleman and the Congressional
Progressive Caucus for coordinating this Special Order hour and thank
all of my colleagues in the Democratic Caucus who are standing up for
working families.
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Thank you very much. As always, you have shared
information with us which is illuminating and edifying and, hopefully,
convincing of our colleagues that they shall adhere to those things
that you were suggesting and recommending.
Mr. Speaker, one of the stories tonight that I have comes from
Armando in New Brunswick, New Jersey. For 3\1/2\ years, Armando worked
at a gas station 7 days a week on the night shift. He got one day off
every 3 months. Despite working 46 hours each week, he didn't get
overtime pay.
In 2007, when his wife Silvia developed eye problems that required a
number of doctors' appointments, Armando's request to leave work early
to help with her treatment and recovery was denied.
In order to care for his wife, Armando would come in from work at 6
a.m., leave at 7 a.m. to head to the hospital with Silvia, return home
at 7 p.m., and sleep for just 2 hours before doing it all over again.
When he filed a complaint with the Department of Labor, Armando lost
his job. On his way out the door, Armando's employer told him he was a
good worker. He liked his work, but not the complaint.
Mr. Speaker, no one should have to endure this. No one should have to
work endlessly with just 4 days off each year just to make ends meet.
No one should have to choose between caring for a loved one and losing
his or her job.
I would like to take this opportunity and share another story with
you from New Jersey. This story comes from Josefa, also from New
Brunswick, New Jersey. She works in a restaurant in the kitchen and
occasionally as a cashier.
When Josefa became pregnant, she had to take 2 months off of work
without pay. When she returned, she asked for the morning shift so that
she could go home to be with her newborn baby.
They obliged her request, but 2 weeks later they moved her to a 5
p.m. to 9 p.m. shift. With so few hours and traveling long distances to
get to the restaurant, Josefa was stuck. She asked her boss for more
hours, not a raise or a handout, but the chance to work enough hours to
make ends meet.
{time} 1845
Despite 5 years in her job, Josefa was told that, if she didn't like
it, she could leave.
In Josefa's own words: ``I was a single mom, so it was very
difficult; and things like this don't just happen to me--they happen to
many others. We just make enough to pay the babysitter and rent, but
there are so many expenses.''
Mr. Speaker, in the greatest Nation in the world, which we are, we
can--and we must--do better. We must stand up for those hardworking
Americans who don't want a handout but who simply want a level playing
field. We have got to stand up for those working Americans who have to
work 46 hours a week, who get 3 or 4 days a year off, who are not able
to make the decision to be able to care for a sick child, a sick
spouse, or a sick parent.
We can do better than that. It doesn't take a lot for us to simply be
decent to those who hold up our economy, who do the jobs that we take
for granted every single, solitary day; but without those jobs, we
would see what is lacking in our lives.
So I ask, Mr. Speaker, that our colleagues in this House--and
particularly on the other side of the aisle--spend some time reflecting
on what little it is they need to do to simply give our working
Americans a fair shake, a fair chance, time with their families, and
time to be able to bring their families into the middle class.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________