WASHINGTON, DC – Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) issued the following statement today after the Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in the U.S. House and Senate:
“Today, Chairman Miller and Senators Kennedy and Harkin introduced legislation to give hard-working Americans the tools they need to secure fair wages and treatment at their jobs.
“The right to organize and bargain for better wages, benefits and
policies in the workplace is a valued American freedom made possible
through the struggles of workers to ensure the prosperity of future
generations.
“The Employee Free Choice Act seeks to preserve that right by
putting the decision of how to form a union back in the hands of
workers, instead of their employers'. Whether employees choose to
unionize by election or majority sign-up, this bill will make both
options viable.
“Employees deserve a fair choice, not a false choice, when it
comes to their rights in the workplace and on matters that affect their
livelihoods and their futures. Restoring employee choice is an
important priority for this Congress and one we will look to act on
quickly.”
Majority Leader Hoyer's website »
(This is a guest blog post by Rep. Phil Hare, a member of the Committee on Education and Labor.)
If one thing was made clear by
today’s hearing it is this: violence against workers in Colombia continues to rage at unacceptable levels.
Here in the United States, we will soon consider legislation intended to make the system for joining unions fairer. But I know people on both sides of that debate would shudder to think that in some places in the world exercising your fundamental right to organize could cost you your life.
The statistics speak for themselves. Colombia has the highest rate of
union homicides in the world. According to the National Labor School
(Escuela Nacional Sindical or ENS), 2,694 unionists have been killed
since 1986, the year the ENS started recording the rate of killings. An
additional 4,200 unionists have reported receiving threats.
According to ENS statistics, after dropping to 39 unionist
assassinations in 2007, the number of killings increased once again to
49 in 2008. This represents a 25% increase. Ironically, 2008 was also
the year that both President Bush and President Uribe claimed that the
situation on the ground was improving as they lobbied Congress to pass
the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. As I said at the hearing, 49
assassinations of trade unionists would never be tolerated in the U.S.
Why would we allow it in a country with whom we are considering a free
trade agreement? Despite the numbers and claims about progress being
made in this area, these are people’s lives. Those killed are mothers,
fathers, sons and daughters; they are not just statistics. Even one
person killed for exercising his or her fundamental rights should not
be tolerated or boasted as improvement.
At today’s hearing, Yessika Hoyos detailed the tragic murder of her
father, a well-known Colombian Labor leader. After years of threats and
an attempted kidnapping, he was gunned-down by two young assassins in
March 2001. He left behind a wife and two young daughters, who were
ages 14 and 17 at the time. The two assailants were quickly arrested
and convicted. But Hoyos says she possesses evidence of involvement by
the Colombian military. So far no charges have been filed, a common
theme in Colombia. In 2006, Hoyos and ten other children of victims
decided to form a new advocacy organization: “Sons and Daughters
Against Impunity.” The founders have travelled all over Colombia
meeting with families of victims, and the organization now has hundreds
of members in seven major cities where it organizes public education
events. I commend Hoyos for her courage.
Today, we also heard from Maria McFarland, a Latin America specialist
for Human Rights Watch. She detailed the links between union violence
and the Colombian government. Specifically, she highlighted the case of
Colombian Intelligence Chief Jorge Noguera, who allegedly passed lists
of protected union members to paramilitaries so they could be targeted.
Overall, I found today’s hearing to be disturbing, but not surprising.
Colombia’s despicable labor rights record is unmatched by any nation in
the world. We should continue to work with the Colombian government to
help put an end to this violence and bring past perpetrators to
justice.
Chairman George Miller sent a letter Friday to Colombia’s President Álvaro Uribe, asking his government to address concerns that Colombia has failed to adequately address the nearly 2,700 murders of labor union leaders in his country. President Uribe will meet with Miller and other members of Congress this week in Washington.
“Our two ally nations should work together to help Colombia improve its
labor laws, decrease the ongoing violence, and finally put an end to
the impunity enjoyed by those who have perpetrated thousands of
anti-labor killings,” Chairman Miller wrote. “These challenges have
taken on heightened significance this year as the violence in Colombia
has escalated over 2007 levels.”
According to the Escuela
Nacional Sindical, an independent Colombian think-tank, nearly 2,700
Colombian union leaders or union members have been murdered since
1986. The overwhelming majority of these killings remain
uninvestigated by the Colombian Attorney General’s Office. In
addition, ENS statistics show that so far this year, more union leaders
have been assassinated than during all of 2007.
Last year
Congress approved $39 million to assist the Colombian government in
improving the rule of law and human rights. This funding included $5
million for Colombian prosecutors to address the backlog of murder
investigations. However, the Bush administration has delayed the
distribution of these funds.
“Many members of Congress are very
disappointed that the Bush administration has not transferred the funds
that we appropriated last year to the Colombian Attorney General’s
Office,” said Chairman Miller. “If the Bush administration had not
created these inexplicable delays, the Government of Colombia could
have already hired even more investigators and prosecutors, and
Colombia might by now be several steps closer to creating an effective
and sustainable system of justice to address the grave problem of
anti-labor violence.”
Chairman Miller traveled to Bogotá
earlier this year to meet with Colombian government officials, judges,
prosecutors, human rights advocates and labor union leaders. Since then
the committee’s staff have continued to conduct additional fact-finding
on Colombia’s efforts to improve its judicial system and the need for
further labor law reforms.
“One advantage stemming from our
Congress’ decision to postpone the vote regarding the proposed Colombia
Free Trade Agreement is that it has given my colleagues and me
additional time needed to assess whether or not Colombia has in fact
created an effective and sustainable system of justice to combat
anti-labor violence,” wrote Chairman Miller. “I hope that this ongoing
fact-finding work will allow Congress to provide helpful
recommendations to the next administration in the United States over
how we can further strengthen our nation’s relationship with Colombia
in such a way that promotes increased trade and higher labor
standards.”
Congress delayed the consideration of the Colombian Free Trade Agreement in April.
The Committee passed the
Paycheck Fairness Act today to help end the discriminatory practice of paying men and women unequally for performing the same job, by a 26 to 17 vote. The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, will strengthen the Equal Pay Act and close the loopholes that have allowed employers to avoid responsibility for discriminatory pay. Although the wage gap between men and women has narrowed since the passage of the landmark Equal Pay Act in 1963, gender-based wage discrimination remains a significant problem for women in the U.S. workforce. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women only make 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. The Institute of Women’s Policy Research concluded that this wage disparity will cost a woman anywhere from $400,000 to $2 million over her lifetime in lost wages.
“This is a historic day in
the fight for equal rights for women. If we are serious about closing
the gender pay gap, we must get serious about punishing those who would
otherwise scoff at the weak sanctions under current law. Any wage gap
based on gender is unacceptable, especially during these tough economic
times. By allowing wage discrimination to continue, we hold down women
and their families while harming the American economy as a whole.” --
Chairman George Miller
“It’s
completely unacceptable that women continue to be discriminated against
in the workplace, receiving a fraction of the pay of men. We must
confront such discrimination head on and ensure that all Americans,
regardless of gender, receive an equal paycheck for equal pay for equal
work.” -- Rep. Lynn Woolsey, chairwoman of the Subcommittee on
Workforce Protections
On Thursday, July 24, the Committee will vote on legislation to help end the discriminatory practice of paying men and women differently for performing the same job. The Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1338), introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), will strengthen the Equal Pay Act and close the loopholes that have allowed employers to avoid responsibility of discriminatory pay. Although the wage gap between men and women has narrowed since the passage of the landmark Equal Pay Act in 1963, gender-based wage discrimination remains a problem for women in the U.S. workforce. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women only make 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. The Institute of Women’s Policy Research found that this wage disparity will cost women anywhere from $400,000 to $2 million over a lifetime in lost wages.
Markup on "H.R. 1338, Paycheck Fairness Act"
Thursday, July 24, 2008, 1:00 p.m. EDT
On this Equal Pay Day 2009, we must commit to achieving equal pay for all Americans. Today, April 28, marks the point in 2009 when the average woman's wages will finally catch up with the wages paid to the average man in 2008.
On this Equal Pay Day 2009, we must commit to achieving equal pay for all Americans. Today, April 28, marks the point in 2009 when the average woman's wages will finally catch up with the wages paid to the average man in 2008.
