LABOR, MILITARY,
AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS POLICY COMMITTEE
COMMITTEES
- Agriculture
- Business, Finance, and Insurance
- Emergency Preparedness / Homeland Security
- Education
- Energy, Transportation, and Environment
- Gaming, Sports, and Entertainment
- Health and Human Services
- Housing
- International Affairs
- Labor, Military, and Veterans' Affairs
- Law, Justice, and Ethics
- Telecommunications, Science, and Technology
- Youth
TASK FORCES
TASK FORCES
Chair: Sen. Peter Groff (CO) 1st Vice Chair: Rep. Sharon Beasley-Teague (GA) 2nd Vice Chair: Assm. Annette Robinson (NY)
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MISSION STATEMENT
This committee reviews and addresses issues and practices related to labor, military, and veterans affairs (examples include labor / management relations, affirmative action, minimum wage and standards, right to work, pay equity, employment security, family leave, and child care). It also monitors veteran rights as they relate to disability, health care and mental health, and other concerns related to servicemen and veterans.
Whose Plan Is Better?
President Bush has not detailed an economic program for the next four
years but has made a priority out of extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts
and making them permanent to ensure continued economic growth. Sen. John
Kerry has linked jobs and health care as the centerpiece of his economic
package and has promised to cut the federal budget deficit in half over
four years, restoring fiscal discipline through "pay-as-you-go"
financing for new programs. Whose plan is better? From jobs and taxes
to outsourcing and health care, Bush and Kerry are making lots of promises.
TIME magazine and MSNBC crunch the numbers for you. Click on the following
links for full articles.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040913-692825-1,00.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4448630/
RESOURCES AND HELPFUL LINKS
U.S. Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor
Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the principal fact-finding agency for
the federal government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics.
National
Labor Relations Board
The NLRB is a federal agency that conducts elections to determine whether
employees want union representation and investigates and remedies unfair
labor practices by employers and unions. If you have a workplace problem
or want more information on the NLRB, visit www.nlrb.gov.
GovBenefits.Gov
GovBenefits.Gov, supported by the U.S. Department of Labor in conjunction
with the Office of Management and Budget, is a Web site developed to serve
citizens as the first government-wide resource for citizen benefit information
and eligibility screening. The site provides information on 48 State and
419 federal programs.
HEADLINES
Military personnel prime targets for ID theft
U.S. military personnel have emerged as prime identity theft targets.
The Department of Defense since the late '60s has used Social Security numbers for everything from dog tags to chow-line rosters. Now, data thieves and con artists have begun to increasingly target military personnel, data security experts say. "Thieves know this is the Achilles' heel of the system," says Todd Davis, CEO of identity theft detection firm Lifelock.
Data thieves in the past year have grabbed computers containing sensitive data for nearly 30 million active and retired service members from four Veterans Affairs offices. That's a big portion of the more than 100 million personal records reported lost or stolen in the USA since 2006, based on a USA TODAY analysis of data compiled by the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
Statistics on financial fraud as a result of these breaches are hard to pin down, but defense officials acknowledge the rising risk. The Defense Department has made it a priority to tighten data-handling policies and has increased training on theft prevention, department spokesman Maj. Stewart Upton said in an e-mail interview. Because of the heavy reliance on the Social Security number, "The cost to remove or replace its use will potentially be very high," Upton said.
ID cards are being upgraded as they expire, using bar codes, magnetic stripes and other electronic authentication tools. No cost estimate is available; a complete overhaul will take years, he said.
But ID cards are just one potential leak point. Clerical workers and laborers, inside and outside the military, handle household moving invoices, medical files, financial forms and relocation orders. That gives them opportunities to turn sensitive data into cash, says Rick Lunstrum, vice president at ID Watchdog, an identity-theft protection firm.
For more information visit
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/infotheft/2007-06-14-military-id-thefts_N.htm
The Employee Free Choice Act
As part of Democrats’ goal of strengthening America’s middle
class, senior U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation that would enable
workers to bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions
by restoring their rights to form unions.
The Employee Free Choice Act, a bipartisan bill introduced in the House
by Reps. George Miller (D-CA), Robert Andrews (D-NJ), and Peter King (R-NY),
would reform a broken union election process in which employers frequently
intimidate, harass, reassign, or even fire workers who support the formation
of a union.
“Despite the growing economy and skyrocketing corporate profits,
the typical American family has actually seen its income decrease over
the last several years. Yet at the same time, families are facing much
higher costs for many of life’s basics, like healthcare, education,
transportation, energy, food, and housing,” said Miller, the chairman
of the House Education and Labor Committee. “There are different
factors contributing to this middle class squeeze, but there is no question
that one critical factor contributing to the squeeze is the difficulty
that workers experience when they want to earn the right to bargain for
better wages, benefits, and working conditions.”
Under the Employee Free Choice Act, if a majority of workers in a workplace
sign cards authorizing a union, then the workers would get a union. By
contrast, under current law, even when a majority of workers ask for union
representation, their employers can force them to undergo an election
process administered by the National Labor Relations Board. In NLRB elections,
the deck is stacked heavily against pro-union workers.
For example, while the employer can discuss the union with its employees
anytime – on company property, and even in one-on-one meetings –
union advocates are severely restricted in their ability to communicate
with workers. Moreover, these elections are wide open to abuse by employers.
The Center for Economic and Policy Research recently estimated that employers
fire one in five workers who actively advocate for a union. A December
2005 study by American Rights at Work found that 49 percent of employers
studied had threatened to close or relocate all or part of the business
if workers elected to form a union. And Human Rights Watch has said, “[F]reedom
of association is a right under severe, often buckling pressure when workers
in the United States try to exercise it.”
Andrews, the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment,
Labor, and Pensions, is convening a hearing on the legislation this Thursday,
February 8, 2007.
In addition to allowing workers to form a union through majority sign-up,
the Employee Free Choice Act would also:
• Stiffen penalties against employers that illegally fire or discriminate
against workers for their union activity during an organizing or first
contract drive, including requiring employers to pay treble back pay to
workers whom they are found to have illegally fired; and
• Allow employers and newly formed unions to refer bargaining to
mediation and, if necessary, binding arbitration if they are not able
to agree on a first contract after 90 days of bargaining.
Giving workers the ability to bargain for better wages and benefits is
a key part of strengthening America’s middle class. Union workers
earn 30 percent more, on average, than do nonunion workers, and union
workers are much more likely to have healthcare, pensions, and more generous
paid time off.
The bill passed the House in March.
A Plumper Payroll
Paid leave is gaining ground
Small businesses may soon be paying their employees while on leave. A bill introduced in Congress in March, and a second expected later this spring, as well as proposed laws in four states aim to expand the 14-year-old Family and Medical Leave Act. How? By creating insurance programs to pay employees on leave, and covering companies with as few as 25, 15, or even a single employee. At the same time, the Labor Dept., prodded by business groups including the Chamber of Commerce, the National Retail Federation, and the National Association of Manufacturers, has collected comments on the law in what it says is an attempt to clarify it. But FMLA supporters worry that Labor will end up restricting the law.
For more information visit:
PAID LEAVE How proposed legislation on leave policies would play out
Bill |
FMLA for the 21st Century sponsored by Sen. Dodd |
Healthy Families Act, sponsored by Sen. Kennedy |
New Jersey: Paid Family Leave Act |
Illinois: Family Leave Insurance Program Act |
Washington: Family and Medical Leave Insurance |
Oregon: Family Leave Benefit Insurance Act |
Co. Size |
25 + | 15+ |
50+ |
All
|
All |
15+ workers |
Funding |
Federal/employer/ employee |
Employers | Tax on Employees |
Employer and Employee |
$40/year tax on full-time employees |
State tax on employees |
Payout |
Would Vary | 100 % | Up to 2/3 of wages |
premium of $.75/week 2/3 of wages, $380/week |
$250 per week |
To be determined |
Leave |
At least six weeks | Seven days, prorated if part time | Up to 12 weeks | max Four weeks |
Up to five weeks | Up to six weeks |
AFT Legislative Fact Sheet for ACE Meetings
Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)
Requested Action for Member of Congress: The AFT urges all members of Congress to co-sponsor the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and to push for its passage in 2007.
Background: Delegates to the 2006 AFT convention passed a resolution
declaring the union’s strong support for this legislation. EFCA
is supported by a strong bipartisan coalition in Congress. In the 109th
Congress, the legislation had 215 co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives
and 37 in the Senate. Passage of EFCA is a priority issue for the new
congressional majority and the AFL-CIO in the 110th Congress; each day
additional members are co-sponsoring the 2007 version of the bill, which
is expected on the House floor this spring.
Why EFCA is Needed: Protecting the right of private sector workers to
form a union is important to public sector unions as well. States with
low levels of private sector unionization, typically in the South, also
limit collective bargaining rights for public employees. According to
independent research, millions of Americans would like to join a union
because they want a voice on the job, quality health insurance and higher
wages. But workers who try to form a union face an unfair, uphill struggle
because many employers take aggressive steps to intimidate, harass and
even fire workers for union-related activity.
Key Points To Raise with Your Legislator
• Some 42 million U.S. workers say they would join a union if they could. But when workers try to get a voice on the job by forming unions, employers often respond with intimidation, harassment and retaliation.
• Research shows that in 92 percent of the cases when workers try to form a union in the private sector, they are subjected to anti-union harassment by their employers. In addition, 25 percent of the time these workers are illegally fired.
• EFCA will level the playing field for workers and employers by restoring workers’ rights to choose a union and by imposing real penalties on employers seeking to curtail these rights.
• By establishing more effective remedies to stop employers from violating employees’ rights, EFCA would ensure that when a majority of employees in a workplace decide to form a union, they can do so without fear of harassment or intimidation.
• Congress must take action to protect the fundamental democratic rights of workers to form and join unions and have a meaningful voice in the workplace.
AFT Looks Forward to Senate Passage of Employee Free Choice Act
March 29, 2007
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) introduced the Employee Free Choice Act
(EFCA) in the U.S.
Senate today. The House passed the bill 241-185 on March 1. The bill would
amend national
labor laws for private sector employees by: 1) strengthening penalties
against companies that
break the law when employees try to form unions; 2) establishing mediation
and arbitration
when a first contract can’t be reached; and 3) enabling employees
to form unions when a
majority signs union authorization cards.
"With today’s introduction of the Employee Free Choice Act
(EFCA) in the U.S. Senate, millions of
working Americans are a step closer to achieving fair wages, fair treatment
and a voice on the
job," AFT president Edward J. McElroy said. "The U.S. House
of Representatives helped pave the
way for this historic legislation when it passed EFCA earlier this month
with strong bipartisan
support. We look forward to a similar outcome in the Senate and applaud
the leadership of Sen.
Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and the growing number of senators co-sponsoring
this legislation.
"Many AFT members in the private sector, including nurses and other
healthcare professionals,
have faced massive employer resistance and multimillion-dollar, union-busting
campaigns when
they try to form a union and reach a first contract. EFCA would put an
end to this kind of abuse
and ensure that employees are able to exercise their right to form a union
free from employer
coercion and retaliation. Further, in the case of healthcare, hospitals
that now spend lavishly on
union-busting could more productively use these dollars to improve patient
care.
"All workers, not just those in the private sector, have a stake
in this critical legislation.
Fundamentally, EFCA is about strengthening and expanding America’s
middle class. The bill
recognizes that employees have a basic right to bargain for a better life,
including fair wages,
adequate healthcare and secure pensions.
"Getting this bill through the Senate won’t be easy, as powerful
interest groups are already
spending and spinning furiously to block worker rights. All U.S. senators
need to hear the real
facts from their constituents: A vote for EFCA is a vote for a fair deal
for working people, and its
passage should be an immediate priority in the Senate." [AFT press
release]