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JOB-TRAINING REAUTHORIZATION—H.R. 27—U.S. workers have seen millions of manufacturing jobs shipped overseas—and now more and more white-collar and high-tech jobs are being exported. Overall, there has been a net loss of jobs since President George W. Bush took office in 2001. But legislation in the House cut overall funding for critical job-training programs, including the U.S. Employment Service and the adult and dislocated worker programs at the Department of Labor. The legislation did not strengthen job-training programs or enhance income support and job-search assistance for jobless Americans. The bill passed March 2, 2005, 224-200. (R: 220-8; D: 4-191; I: 0-1) AFL-CIO Position: Y=Wrong; N=Right |
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PENSION PROTECTION/UNITED AIRLINES PENSIONS—H.R. 3010—United Airlines filed for bankruptcy in 2002 and, despite more than $13 billion in worker concessions, terminated its employees' pensions plans in 2005. The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) took over the plans with drastically reduced benefits for the airlines' 120,000 workers. Earlier, US Airways terminated its pension plans as part of its bankruptcy plans, and other airlines are threatening similar action. An amendment to the fiscal year 2005 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill would have prohibited the PBGC from spending money to implement its agreement with United Airlines to terminate the four pension plans. The amendment passed June 24, 2005, 219-185. (R: 31-185; D: 187-0; I:1-0) AFL-CIO Position: Y=Right; N=Wrong |
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WAL-MART—H.R. 3010—After Wal-Mart was cited for child labor law violations by the Labor Department, the government and the giant retailer reached a 2005 settlement of the charges that included a provision requiring the Labor Department to give Wal-Mart an unprecedented 15 days notice before conducting any future child labor or wage and hour investigations. An amendment to the fiscal year 2006 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill would have prohibited the Labor Department from implementing the sweetheart deal with Wal-Mart. The amendment failed June 24, 2005, 165-234. (R: 3-212; D: 161-22; I:1-0) AFL-CIO Position: Y=Right; N=Wrong |
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AMTRAK—H.R. 3058—The Bush administration's budget proposed to eliminate nearly all funding for Amtrak's long-distance passenger rail service. Amtrak employs 20,000 workers, and such huge service cuts would threaten to shut down the carrier. An amendment to delete language in the fiscal year 2005 Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill, which would have eliminated the funding, passed June 29, 2005, 269-152. (R: 73-151; D: 195-1; I: 1-0) AFL-CIO Position: Y=Right; N=Wrong |
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PRIVATIZING FEDERAL JOBS—H.R. 3058—A rule by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) covering outsourcing and privatization of work by federal agencies (Circular A-76) is tilted heavily in favor of private corporate contractors. The Bush administration has made privatizing government services a top policy priority. An amendment was introduced to the fiscal year 2005 Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill to prohibit funds from being spent to implement OMB's privatization plan. The bipartisan amendment would allow lawmakers the opportunity to rewrite the privatization process to be fairer to federal workers and more accountable to taxpayers. It passed June 30, 2005, 222-203 (R: 24-202; D: 197-1; I:1-0) AFL-CIO Position: Y=Right; N=Wrong |
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WORKPLACE SAFETY/ENFORCEMENT RULINGS—H.R. 741—This legislation was part of a package of bills that would weaken the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) to the benefit of employers and stifle enforcement of the safety law while doing nothing to improve workers' safety on the job. H.R. 741 would overturn a 1991 Supreme Court decision and give deference in interpreting OSHA standards to the OSHA Review Commission, and not the secretary of labor, who has more experience and expertise in developing and interpreting safety and health standards. Such a change would create an incentive for employers to challenge rules and interpretations of safety laws made by the secretary of labor. The bill passed July 12, 2005, 226-197 (R: 217-9; D: 9-187; I: 0-1) AFL-CIO Position: Y=Wrong; N=Right |
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WORKPLACE SAFETY/FEES—H.R. 742—This legislation was part of a package of bills that would weaken the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) to the benefit of employers and stifle enforcement of the safety law while doing nothing to improve workers' safety on the job. H.R. 742 would require taxpayers to pay the legal costs of small employers that prevail in any enforcement or regulatory challenge against OSHA, even when the government enforcement action is “substantially justified.” The bill passed July 12, 2005, 235-187 (R: 218-8; D: 17-178; I: 0-1) AFL-CIO Position: Y=Wrong; N=Right |
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HEALTH CARE—H.R.525—Some small businesses provide health insurance for their workers through association health plans (AHPs) purchased through their trade associations, which use the group force of their membership to negotiate lower costs. AHPs must follow state insurance regulations. But H.R. 525 would exempt AHPs from state consumer protection rules and coverage guidelines that other insurers must follow. The exemption would mean AHPs would offer bare-bones plans that appeal only to younger and healthier workers, prompting premium increases for the vast majority (75 percent) of small firms that offer comprehensive coverage, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The bill passed July 26, 2005, 263-165 (R: 227-0; D: 36-164; I: 0-1) AFL-CIO Position: Y=Wrong; N=Right |
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