Last week, for the first time, members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced an amendment to bar federal contractors who steal workers' wages from getting U.S. government contracts. What a good idea.
Change To Win, the federation to which the Teamsters belong, tell us:
The entire Democratic Caucus and 10 Republican House members supported the measure to end wage theft. Ultimately, the amendment failed 211- 196...
Ellison and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee gave impassioned floor speeches urging their colleagues to stand up for low wage federal contract workers.
Members of Congress are acting in response to a series of wage theft complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Labor by Good Jobs Nation workers at Union Station and The Ronald Reagan Building in Washington D.C. These low-wage workers are owed at least $4 million in back-pay and damages because current minimum wage and overtime laws are routinely flouted on federal property.Teamsters' friends Keith Ellison and Raul Grijalva, Democratic representatives, told The Huffington Post:
The federal government could lead the way by disqualifying contractors who practice wage theft, but House Republicans voted tonight against an amendment to do exactly that.Recently, Good Jobs Nation wage theft victims met with the new Wage and Hour Administrator of the U.S. Labor Department and urged him to end the investigations and stop lawbreakers from receiving federal contracts. Find out what happens next in the struggle by clicking here and signing up for updates.
