[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16799-16802]
[From the U.S. 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 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

[[Page 16800]]

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 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

[[Page 16801]]

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 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.

[[Page 16802]]

  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.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, thank you, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, 
for your tireless advocacy for working families. I'd also like to thank 
Ranking Member Bobby Scott for leading the way, as ranking member of 
the Education and Workforce Committee, and with this important agenda.
  Let me start by telling Andre's story.
  Andre is from California, he's 31 and a father of four boys. He was a 
trained apprenticed carpenter.
  When he began to look for work, he learned quickly that without a 
personal connection, it was nearly impossible to get a job in the 
construction industry. Every morning, he hustled to get to work sites 
by 5 AM to introduce himself to employers and show them his skills.
  Seldom did he receive the opportunity to actually apply for a job.
  As a result, he could barely sustain his family. Any income he had 
went to food, transportation and rent. So, he began volunteering with 
the Los Angeles Black Workers Center, which connected him to a good-
paying job building new rail lines that let him provide for his family.
  The unemployment and underemployment that Andre and other Black 
workers experience is not unique. The use of informal networks in 
hiring means that Black workers are often excluded and discriminated 
against before they even get a shot. Andre said: ``Too many people are 
out there talking about training, like we're not trained enough. 
Training is not the issue. I was trained really well. The issue is 
access.''
  Andre is right--all the training in the world won't help if in the 
end, employers won't give people like Andre a fair shot.
  And this agenda is designed to give Andre, his family and all 
families, a fair chance.
  Andre's struggle reflects the divide in our economy and our country: 
while some have recovered fully from the Great Recession, too many 
working families are still struggling.
  And in communities of color, which were the hardest hit by the Great 
Recession, unemployment and underemployment remains sky-high--and wage 
discrimination and formal and informal barriers to employment continue 
to slow economic growth.
  For example, African American women in my home state of California 
still earn just 64 cents for every dollar paid to white men. And 
Latinas earn a mere 44 cents. This persistent wage gap is a reflection 
of our economy, which is leaving too many working families behind--
especially communities of color.
  That's why the Working Family Agenda is so important.
  It takes long overdue steps to level the playing field for all.
  Specifically, this agenda would: raise the wage for millions, 
strengthen collective bargaining and improve working conditions, 
provide paid sick and family leave, and expand access to childcare.
  Furthermore, it would provide long overdue protections for women and 
LGBT Americans in the workplace.
  And as a former small business owner, I know the importance and value 
of providing your employees with a living wage: it's better for your 
company and for retaining good workers.
  Mr. Speaker, now is the time to take action on this agenda--families 
need it and our economy needs it. Let's boost wages, make it easier for 
families to balance work and family life, and bring an end to workplace 
discrimination.
  That's what American families want--and it's what Congress should be 
working on.

                          ____________________