Jobs and the Workforce
As a life long owner of a union printing business, a staunch defender of worker’s rights and a member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, I believe Congress has a responsibility to take proactive and commonsense measures that can provide business owners with certainty, promote economic growth, and create jobs for Wisconsinites. I want to make strategic investments in education, research and development and infrastructure, and to support small business owners who create jobs in our communities. I have made creating jobs a number one priority and will fight to put Wisconsinites back to work and ensure long-term, sustainable growth that will power our economy for years to come.
As a small business owner who has seen the effects of massive trade deals and their impact on American products, I have also been a leader in fighting for fair trade deals that protect American jobs and American industries. Twenty years after the NAFTA trade deal was signed, the U.S. has a $181 billion trade deficit with Mexico and Canada and a related loss of one million net U.S. jobs, according to Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch. Recently, I led a letter with 35 other freshman lawmakers calling for increased transparency from the administration on Trans-Pacific Partnership, a Pacific Rim trade deal, and urging Congress not to give up our constitutional authority to oversee foreign trade agreements.
I am also a strong proponent of raising the minimum wage and am a cosponsor of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which would raise the minimum wage, over the span of two years, to $10.10 an hour.
More on Jobs and the Workforce
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) sent a letter to President-elect Trump asking him to enforce and expand the Buy America Act, and also highlighting Congressional Republican leadership’s opposition to requirements that American tax dollars go to companies that employ American workers. Rep. Pocan and his colleagues also expressed concern over current loopholes and lax enforcement of the Buy America Act, particularly those related to shipbuilding.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02) applauded the United States Department of Labor’s $50.5 million dollar investment to expand apprenticeships. The ApprenticeshipUSA grants will go to 37 states for the purpose of expanding apprenticeship and meeting the national goal set by President Obama to double the number of apprentices. United States Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez is scheduled to highlight the investment in Wisconsin, totaling $1.5 million, at Madison College later this morning.
By Rep. Mark Pocan
As we approach Labor Day, we should all remember the words of the late, great US Senator Paul Wellstone, "We all do better when we all do better." This clearly is the mission of the labor movement.
The story of unions is the story of America’s middle-class. Unions have been essential in gaining safer working conditions, better wages and benefits, and empowering workers to have a seat at the table.
MADISON, WI. – U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02) released the following statement after visiting several local cooperative businesses to promote the benefits of this business model and raise awareness of the Congressional Cooperative Business Caucus.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Richard Hanna (R-NY) led a bipartisan letter to President Obama urging him to direct all federal agencies to prohibit discrimination in federal government contracting and subcontracting based on the sexual orientation or gender identity of the business owner.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) led a letter to Volkswagen Group of America President and CEO Christian Koch and Executive Vice President of Human Resources Sebastian Pata expressing disappointment in the company’s refusal to bargain with the skilled trades employees at the Chattanooga plant who voted overwhelmingly for a union.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), a member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, introduced the Leveraging Effective Apprenticeships to Rebuild National Skills (LEARNS) Act. The LEARNS Act would increase the number of highly skilled workers in the United States and ensures the registered apprenticeship program is an effective earn-and-learn model for students, workers, and employers.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02) released the following statement in response to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) tentative decision to allow Norwegian Air International to operate flights to the United States.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Mark Pocan (WI-02) released the following statement in support of the nearly 40,000 Verizon workers from Massachusetts to Virginia poised to strike tomorrow for a fair contract.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02) released the following statement after the United States Supreme Court delivered its decision in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, affirming the rights of teachers and other public sector employees to have a seat at the table and the ability to strengthen their profession through union representation. The 4-4 ruling upholds the lower court’s decision and allows the 1976 Abood v. Detroit Board of Education decision to remain precedent.