Issue Position: Labor Standards

Issue Position

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the nation's basic labor standards law. It protects all workers who might otherwise be subjected to unfair wages, pay discrimination and extended hours of work without overtime pay. The FLSA limits child labor and industrial homework and protects the disabled. FLSA protections are regularly under attack and are often eroded by lack of enforcement.

The Davis-Bacon Act requires the payment of prevailing community wages on federally financed construction projects. The law ensures local contractors that uphold prevailing rates of pay and local labor standards in a geographic area a fair chance to compete for government projects without being undercut by outside firms using cut-rate labor. The act also protects the government from unreliable operators seeking to win federal contracts by bidding too low to attract competent craftsmen.

The Service Contract Act (SCA) is based on the principle that the federal government should not award contracts for services to employers that underbid by paying workers less than the actual rates of pay for the same work in a geographic area. SCA protects the living standards of those who are employed as a direct result of federal service contracts, particularly those in low-wage occupations.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993, which requires employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid (but job-protected) family or medical leave, took a major step in helping workers balance the demands of work and family. But the effectiveness of the FMLA is constrained by its limited coverage and the inability of millions of workers to afford leave without pay, and the FMLA is threatened by employer-backed proposals to limit the circumstances under which FMLA leave can be taken. Almost 41 million workers are not covered by the FMLA and according to a 2000 Labor Department study, 78% of workers who needed leave but did not take it said they could not afford to take it. To address these shortcomings, Congress needs to expand FMLA eligibility and provide for limited wage replacement during periods of leave. Congress must also resist calls by employers to curtail FMLA rights by limiting the circumstances under which employees can take leave. And in addition to family and medical leave already provided under the FMLA, Congress should guarantee at least seven paid sick days for every worker.

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935 protects the right of workers to form and join unions and bargain for better working conditions, and allows workers at company's local unit to unionize. The Railway Labor Act (RLA) of 1926, which applies to the aviation and rail industries, affirms the right of workers in those industries to organize and bargain collectively, but allows unionization only on a national scale -- a far more difficult task. The largest package delivery companies have workers who perform virtually identical work, however some companies' workers are governed by the NLRA, while workers at other companies fall under the RLA. For example, the United Parcel Service (UPS), which has both airline and trucking components of its business and competes with FedEx, is covered by the RLA for its airline operations and by the NLRA for its trucking operations. Unlike UPS, there is language in the law defining FedEx as an "express carrier", dictating that all its workers are governed by the RLA. The provision was placed in the law in 1996 to block efforts to organize a local union in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

If elected, I will work to oppose any effort to exclude more workers from the protections of the 40-hour workweek or to deny more workers the absolute right to overtime pay.

If elected, I will work to oppose any effort that allows employers to avoid paying cash overtime for work in excess of 40 hours per week or to exclude certain forms of compensation from the calculation of overtime pay.

If elected, I will oppose any proposed legislation that would either weaken or repeal the Davis-Bacon Act.

If elected, I will oppose any legislation that would weaken or repeal the Service Contract Act.

If elected, I will oppose any regulatory or legislative efforts that limit the circumstances under which an employee is able to take FMLA leave.

If elected, I will support an effort to expand the FMLA to cover workers in companies with fewer than 50 employees.

If elected, I will support legislation to provide for wage replacement during periods of FMLA leave.

If elected, I will support legislation to require that companies guarantee seven paid sick day per year.

I will support a repeal of the "express carrier" language included in aviation law that impedes workers' right to organize a union.

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