Labor
America’s dependable labor force has built the roads and bridges on which we travel, the homes and businesses in which we live and work, and has powered our nation through wars. Our nation is better because of their hard work and they deserve our gratitude and thanks for making our country the great place it is today.
I have worked hard to ensure that our labor force is equipped to face the challenging days ahead. Over the years, I have consistently voted in favor of a variety of legislation that supports living wages for American workers and supports family friendly policies for all Americans. One of my first official acts upon arriving in Congress was supporting the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which provided wage increases to America’s 13 million lowest-paid workers. These pay increase provided much needed relief to families struggling under the weight of their financial obligations. I also supported the Healthy Families Act, which would require employers to extend paid sick leave to their employees. Though this bill has not yet become law, I will continue to fight for its passage in the 112th Congress. Yet another bill that I am very proud to have supported is the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This legislation clarifies that every paycheck, or other compensation, resulting from earlier discriminatory pay decision constitutes a violation of the Civil Rights Act. Finally, in both the 110th and 111th Congresses, I was an original co sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and I will continue to support this legislation in future Congresses. If passed into law, the Employee Free Choice Act would enable working people to bargain for better benefits, wages and working conditions by restoring workers’ freedom to choose for themselves whether to join a union. It would remove current obstacles to employees who want collective bargaining, while guaranteeing they are able to achieve a contract.
America’s workers have always been and will remain the backbone of our country’s economy. I am committed to continuing the fight for America’s workers so that the American Dream can remain within reach for all.
More on Labor
Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on the nomination of Andrew Puzder as Secretary of the Department of Labor.
"Flatbush Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke today lauded the October Jobs Report from the Department of Labor, which announced that the economy added 271,000 jobs and the unemployment rate decreased to five percent, lower than before the start of the Great Recession."
Brooklyn, N.Y. - Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on a report from the Department of Labor announcing that the economy added 215,000 jobs in July, the sixty-fifth consecutive month of increases in private sector jobs. The unemployment rate remains 5.3 percent.
Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on the proposal by President Obama and the Department of Labor to extend overtime pay to nearly five million workers – 290,000 of them in New York State. The proposal would guarantee overtime pay to most salaried workers earning less than an estimated $50,440 next year.
Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on H.R. 1088, the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act of 2015, which failed to pass in the House of Representatives by a vote of 126 “ayes” and 302 “noes.” Congresswoman Clarke voted “no.”
To enact the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement (TPP), the House of Representatives must also pass the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act (TAA), because the Senate version of the agreement includes both TPP and TAA.
Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on a report from the Department of Labor which stated that 252,000 jobs were added to our economy in December. Nearly three million jobs were created in 2014, the highest total since 1999.
"The House Democratic Caucus named five new members to the House Energy and Commerce Committee during the first week of the congressional session. Yvette Clarke (NY), David Loebsack (IA), Kurt Schrader (OR), Joseph Kennedy, III (MA) and Tony Cárdenas (CA) are the new Democrats on the panel."
To continue reading, please visit http://insidehealthpolicy.com/login-redirect-no-cookie?n=80868&destination=node/80868
Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on her selection by the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee to become a member of the prestigious Energy and Commerce Committee of the House of Representative in the One Hundred Fourteenth Session of Congress. Established in 1795, the Energy and Commerce Committee has operated continuously for more than two hundred years.
Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement after the Department of Labor announced that the economy added 321,000 jobs in November, the fifty-eighth consecutive month of increases in private-sector jobs. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.8 percent, the lowest unemployment rate since July 2008.