Labor

Murray's Work

Research and Development Tax Credit

On March 3, Senator Murray introduced an amendment to extend the Research and Development Tax Credit for 18 months to help American workers. The credit will expire at the end of June unless Congress acts. Murray offered the Murray-Hatch amendment with Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) to the JOBS Act.

On a 93-0 vote later in the day, the Senate unanimously passed the Murray-Hatch Amendment.

Floor Statement |   Statement on Passage

"Every day we learn of more American jobs being shipped overseas. American companies are losing out in the global marketplace and that has a huge impact on our workers and our economy." "Extending and improving the Research and Development tax credit is one of the most important things we can do today to foster investment at home and job creation throughout the country." Full Story

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Overtime Protection

Senator Murray is strongly opposed to the Administration's attack on overtime pay for 8 million hard-working Americans. In fact, during a contentious hearing on January 20, Murray questioned the Labor Secretary about it. Over the past year Murray has fought this anti-worker proposal in the Appropriations Committee, in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and on the Senate floor.

In September, Murray helped lead a successful effort in the Senate to amend the Senate’s FY 2004 Labor, HHS Appropriations bill to block the Department of Labor's changes. The House of Representatives also agreed to this language. Unfortunately, the Republican majority in the Congress, working in concert with the Administration later removed the prohibition when crafting the Omnibus Appropriations bill.

Senator Murray voted to move the Omnibus Appropriations bill forward because it is important to Washington state. The bill funds more than one-half of the federal government responsibilities including education, health care, transportation and veterans. Washington state is trying to move forward, to get our economy moving again. The omnibus bill will help Washington state. That's why Senator Murray voted for it. She viewed this as an important vote for Washington state.

The Administration published its new rules in April of 2004. In May, Senator Murray voted for Senator Tom Harkin’s overtime amendment to the Corporate Tax Breaks for U.S. Manufacturers bill (S. 1637). This amendment will prohibit the Labor Department from implementing its proposed changes. The Harkin amendment passed by a vote of 52-47 – the second time that the Senate has affirmed it’s commitment to protecting the overtime rights of millions of American works across the country. Murray is continuing to lead the fight to ensure that the Harkin Amendment is preserved during final consideration of the Corporate Tax Breaks for U.S. Manufacturers bill.

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Victory for Washington’s Boeing and Airline Industry Workers!

See Economy

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Creating New Jobs in Communities Across Washington State

Senator Murray is focused on creating new jobs in communities across Washington state.

Senator Murray has secured millions of dollars of federal funding for Washington state transportation projects. In dozens of these projects, federal dollars are creating good jobs, improving transportation, and laying the foundation for our future economic growth.

Senator Murray continues to be a strong advocate for our state's aerospace workers. She helped broker the deal to create thousands of aerospace jobs by enabling the U.S. Air Force to lease 100 new Boeing 767s. And she worked with Boeing management to retain the jobs at their Spokane plant. Senator Murray has also called for an investigation on the total effect Airbus is having on the U.S. aerospace industry.

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Improving Safety

The Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed over thirty years ago, yet far too many workers are still being hurt on the job. Senator Murray believes in honoring those workers who lost their lives in the workplace by recommitting ourselves to fight for the living and for safety laws.

The leading cause of workplace injuries in the United States are ergonomic hazards. Each year, workers in the United States suffer 1.8 million ergonomic injuries, many of which could have been easily prevented. That is why Senator Murray supports requiring the Department of Labor to issue new ergonomics standards. Senator Murray believes that we cannot take for granted the importance of strong safety laws and must keep finding ways to make Washington state's workplaces safer.

Senator Murray is also leading the fight in Congress to keep U.S. highways safe by requiring Mexican trucks to meet U.S. safety standards. Currently, Mexican trucks have few restrictions on hazardous materials, total weight or even the number of hours a driver can be behind the wheel.

Senator Murray supports efforts to strengthen worker protections. She is proud to be a cosponsor of the Protecting America's Workers Act (S. 2371). This important bill will extend workplace protections to 8 million workers; it will provide stiff and meaningful criminal penalties for fatal violations of safety laws; it will provide more resources for OSHA to investigation workplace safety violations; and give workers and their families more rights in that investigatory process.

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Defending Basic Rights of Workers

The fundamental right of workers to collectively bargain and negotiate fair wages and benefits is under attack. Senator Murray is working hard to ensure that the rights of all workers are respected in the workplace because Washington state workers deserve a chance to create a better life for their families.

In the days following September 11th, the Administration stood against U.S. Senate's efforts to gain collective bargaining rights for firefighters. And in creating the Homeland Security Department, thousands of federal workers ability to bargain collectively were taken away. So, there is much work to be done.

Senator Murray believes that we must reaffirm our commitment to the rights of workers and will continue the fight for legislation that contains these important and basic protections. That is why she is proud to be an original cosponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act. This important legislation will streamline the process for the National Labor Relations Board’s recognition of organization efforts; and increase the penalties for employers who attempt to block efforts of their employees to form unions.

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Ensuring a Secure Retirement

Washington state workers deserve retirement security in their golden years. Senator Murray believes Social Security is still the best foundation on which to build that security. And preventing attempts to privatize our social security system is a top priority for Senator Murray. In addition, Senator Murray believes workers who contribute to corporate 401(k) pension plans should be treated the same as management or executives - no exemptions, no more Enrons.

In the aftermath of the many shocking corporate scandals that left thousands of workers high and dry, the U.S. Senate responded swiftly to pass tough, new accounting reform legislation. The Senate legislation, which Senator Murray co-sponsored, will crack down on accounting fraud and prevent dishonest CEOs from cooking the books. The House and President had supported far weaker legislation, and had to be dragged "kicking and screaming" to support the Senate's accounting fraud bill. Senator Murray will continue to support efforts to protect the pensions and retirement savings of all workers.

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Training a New Generation of Workers

Washington state is fortunate to have an excellent workforce development system which receives federal funding under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). WIA empowers workers, not government programs, by offering training grants directly to them, so they can choose for themselves what kind of training they want and where they want to get it. This law is up for reauthorization this year. As a member of the HELP Committee, Senator Murray will work to strengthen this important piece of legislation so that Washington state workers are given the tools to move to new jobs, higher incomes, and brighter futures.

Senator Murray has also strongly supported the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which helps workers laid off as a result of international trade. Senator Murray believes that trade is good for the economy as a whole, but that its costs frequently fall on the shoulders of a few. As of member of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray works hard to protect the funding for the TAA program.

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Increasing the Minimum Wage

The minimum wage is one of the most fundamental federal workplace protections. Unlike Washington state's minimum wage, the federal minimum wage has not been increased in almost a decade.

No one who works for a living should have to live in poverty. The declining value of the minimum wage means that low-income workers have been forced to work increasingly longer hours to make ends meet and have less time to spend with their families.

There is no evidence that modest increases in the minimum wage have any significant adverse effect on the economy. But we know the significant positive effect of these increases on families. Senator Murray believes that a fair increase is long overdue for workers across the nation.

Every day we fail to raise the minimum wage, families across the country fall farther behind. This is unacceptable. No one who works for a living should have to live in poverty. It's time that Congress follow Washington state's lead and vote to raise the minimum wage.

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Unemployment Assistance

See Economy