Labor and Working Families

Not long after Congressman Lynch was elected to represent the Massachusetts 9th Congressional District, he founded and continues to co-chair the Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus, which currently counts 87 Members of Congress in its ranks. Congressman Lynch continues to believe that all employees have the right to a safe workplace and a decent wage so Americans can provide for themselves and their families. Congressman Lynch supports the premise that our government has a fundamental obligation to ensure that all Americans enjoy a decent standard of living.

Early in the 112th Congress it became clear that many provisions and practices adopted over the decades to provide a fair wage and a safe workplace and protect workers and working families, would be under attack. The 111th Congress passed important workers’ rights bills such as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. But so far in the 112th Session, Congressman Lynch has had to take the floor to defend the rights of workers. The current Majority in the House of Representatives remains focused on effort to roll back established wage protections such as the Davis-Bacon Act, to prohibit Project Labor Agreements on construction projects that receive federal funds and to dismantle the National Labor Relations Act, which has been protecting workers rights for nearly eighty years.  

On September 15th, 2011, the House of Representatives passed the Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act by a vote of 238-186. Congressman Lynch voted against this bill. This legislation proposed to cripple the National Labor Relations Board and allow companies to retaliate against workers who exercise their basic right to collectively bargain by threatening to move their jobs. This bill does nothing to protect jobs and, in fact, is a misguided measure that will facilitate a race to the bottom for American workers’ rights, wages, benefits and working conditions.

On February 3, 2012, Congressman Lynch voted no on final passage the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization and Reform Act, which passed by a vote of 248-169. The bill included anti-labor provision that increased the signature requirement to petition for a union election.  Congressman Lynch supports a long term reauthorization of FAA programs, but this anti-labor provision rewrites labor law that has stood for 75 years, will ultimately serve to harm both airline and railroad workers, and had no place in this important legislation.

It is certain that these efforts will continue as the 112th Congress moves ahead. Congressman Lynch came to the United States Congress to stand up for working families, and will continue to oppose these attempts to weaken hard won work place protections.