Below is the Rates Congress for 2010. Click here to download the full PDF version.
Key House Votes
View Scorecards for Representatives by CWA District:
Click here to view House Heros and Zeros
Employee Free Choice Act Co-Sponsorship
The continued failure to pass this pivotal legislation has hit American workers hard, and CWA continues to fight for its progress while holding its opponents accountable. Hardworking families are feeling the squeeze from the economic downturn, while bonuses have returned to the corporate boardroom. The time is yesterday to level the playing field, and The Employee Free Choice Act or similar legislation will make it easier for millions of workers to join unions, meaning higher wages, better benefits, and improved living standards for everyone. 225 Co-Sponsors in House
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
January 22, 2009
The House cleared legislation clarifying the law in response to the Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v.Goodyear. Ms. Ledbetter, a supervisor, learned after she retired that she was paid substantially less than her male counterparts. She filed a suit which the Supreme Court ruled invalid because of the time that had elapsed since she was a Goodyear employee. This law amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to remove the statute of limitations for filing an equal-pay lawsuit. CWA strongly supported this legislation. Roll Call Vote No. 9 (Y = +, N = -) Passed House 247-181
American Reinvestment and Recovery “Stimulus” Act
February 13, 2010
The Bush years put the American economy in the worst shape since the Great Depression. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, popularly known as “the Stimulus,” passed the House by a vote of 246-183. The legislation was aimed at stimulating the economy and putting America back to work. The conference report directed the FCC to develop a National Broadband Plan, a CWA priority.
Roll Call Vote No. 70. (Y = +, N = -) Passed House 246-183
Executive Compensation
July 21, 2009
Even though their mismanagement led to the loss of millions of jobs and billions in lost money for pension funds, Corporate Executives whose institutions took taxpayer bailout money were given obscene bonuses. The House of Representatives voted to ban compensation practices that encourage banks to take excessive risks, give shareholders a vote on executive pay, and ensure that corporate compensation-setting processes are independent from the managers whose pay is being set.
Roll Call Vote No. 686. (Y = +, N = -). Passed House 237-185
Heath Care Reform
March 25, 2010
The health care system as it stood before this past March was not working for CWA workers, retirees or employers. In recent years, our wage increases have slowed and our benefit plans have shrunk to offset rising health care costs. Workers and retirees were paying more and getting less- and we demanded that Congress take action on our largest grassroots mobilization and campaign to date. And we saw great success. With the passage of the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, the decades-long struggle to make health care accessible, affordable and available to all has been achieved.
Roll Call Vote No. 167. (Y = +, N = -) Passed House 220-211
National Labor Relations Board Letter
March 26, 2010
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard organized a letter calling on President Obama to make recess appointments of Craig Becker and Mark Pearce after repeated Republican filibusters during the debate on the Presidential nominees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). CWA members should express gratitude to the courageous Members of Congress who signed. Laborers across the nation depend on a working NLRB. With the addition of Craig Becker and Mark Pearce, the NLRB will finally once again be able to address the egregious backlog of cases and serve justice to neglected workers. In the face of staunch Republican campaigns to silence laborers, the NLRB can now serve its intended purpose. The day after this letter was sent, the President made recess appointments of Becker & Pierce. 141 Members Signed
T-Mobile Letter
May 3, 2010
The anti-union culture at the Deutsche Telekom (DT) United States subsidiary T-Mobile is severe, entrenched, and manipulative. Their management is supplied with written materials detailing how to resist a union, how to recognize “early signals of unionizing,” and how to counter the “union game plan.” While T-Mobile still claims to their parent company that offering basic collective bargaining rights is not “conductive to implementing and sustaining high performance work practices or achieving positive results,” many legislators have signed on to a CWA to DT fundamentally asserting otherwise. CWA commends these public servants for respecting the human right to organize and bargain collectively is essential to ensuring that our economic recovery is fair and sustainable. 24 Democrats and 7 Republicans. Note: Only Democrats on the Education & Labor Committee were asked to sign.
Miller Amendment to the COMPETES Bill
May 12, 2010
Another important movement in Congress this year was initiated by Rep. George Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor. CWA commends his proposal to amend the America COMPETES act to require that public universities receiving federal research funds provide already required information to collective bargaining agents representing scientific research staff on a timely basis. His amendment takes an important step towards restraining attempts to frustrate and stall bargaining and towards ensuring that our universities treat scholars with the respect they deserve. It will enhance the research mission of the U.S. University system, and allow our nation to retain the world class talent our educational system depends on. CWA commends those who voted in favor of this important amendment.
Roll Call Vote No. 265. (Y = +, N = -). Passed House 250-174
Joint Strike Fighter
May 27, 2010
CWA opposed this amendment to eliminate funding for the Joint Strike Fighter Alternative Engine Program. CWA is fighting hard on Capitol Hill to continue funding for the F 136 engine produced by General Electric/ Rolls Royce for use in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). General Electric/ Rolls Royce employ thousands of CWA members, earning their living building this competitive engine. Eliminating this program would force them into unemployment and deeper financial crisis. Many Congressional leaders have heard our call here at CWA and are taking decisive action for the continuation of the F 136 engine, helping ensure the quality of America’s military aircraft and demonstrating a commitment to high-road, high-wage manufacturing in these difficult economic times. CWA applauds them for standing up for the American worker.
Roll Call Vote No. 316. (Y = -, N = +). Amendment Failed 193-231
Tax Extenders Bill including the Reverse Morris Trust Repeal
May 27, 2010
Many Members of Congress have been talking a great deal about giving Americans the support they need to bounce back in the job market. H.R. 4213 represented the final opportunity for them to back up their rhetoric with action, and while some legislators delivered, many did not. The benefit extensions and tax cuts included in the American Workers, State, and Businesses Relief act with might have helped both laborers and employers through this woeful economy, putting people back to work to fuel economic expansion. Additionally, H.R. 4213 would have closed many tax-loopholes that have been hurting workers, consumers, and our national deficit since before this crisis began, including the Reverse Morris Trust (RMT) tax-loophole. The RMT tax-loophole is a Wall Street scheme that allows big businesses to avoid paying taxes on the sale of company assets. CWA supported passage of this bill to close the corporate loophole. Roll Call Vote No. 324. (Y = +, N = -). Passed House 215-204
Key Senate Votes
Click here to see Senate Heros and Zeroes
Employee Free Choice Act Co-Sponsorship
The continued failure to pass this pivotal legislation has hit American workers hard, and CWA continues to fight for its progress while holding its opponents accountable. The Senate rules allowing the minority party to filibuster and block any meaningful piece of legislation prevents us from seeing this bill become law. Hardworking families are feeling the squeeze from the economic downturn, while bonuses have returned to the corporate boardroom. The time is yesterday to level the playing field, and The Employee Free Choice Act or similar legislation will make it easier for millions of workers to join unions, meaning higher wages, better benefits, and improved living standards for everyone. 40 Co-Sponsors in the Senate
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
January 22, 2009
The House cleared legislation clarifying the law in response to the Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v.Goodyear. Ms. Ledbetter, a supervisor, learned after she retired that she was paid substantially less than her male counterparts. She filed a suit which the Supreme Court ruled invalid because of the time that had elapsed since she was a Goodyear employee. This law amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to remove the statute of limitations for filing an equal-pay lawsuit. CWA strongly supported this legislation. Roll Call Vote No. 9 (Y = +, N = -) Passed House 247-181
American Reinvestment and Recovery “Stimulus” Act
February 13, 2009
The Bush years put the American economy in the worst shape since the Great Depression. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, popularly known as “the Stimulus,” passed the House by a vote of 246-183. The legislation was aimed at stimulating the economy and putting America back to work. The conference report directed the FCC to develop a National Broadband Plan, a CWA priority.
Roll Call Vote No. 70. (Y = +, N = -) Passed House 246-183
Nomination of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board
February 9, 2010
As was his right, President Obama nominated labor attorney Craig Becker to fill a vacancy on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The continued abuse of the filibuster by Republicans in the Senate resulted in Becker’s nomination being blocked. Working men and women across the nation depend on a functioning NLRB not dominated by corporate interests. This appointment would have allowed the NLRB to finally address its egregious backlog of cases and serve justice to neglected workers. This vote was a failed attempt to break the Republican filibuster of the nomination. This vote failed to reach the super-majority 60 votes needed. CWA Strongly supported this nomination. Roll Call Vote No. 22. (Y = +, N = -) Failed Cloture Vote in Senate 54 – 33
Note: The President appointed Craig Becker to the NLRB in a recess appointment.
Heath Care Reform
March 25, 2010
The health care system as it stood before this past March was not working for CWA workers, retirees or employers. In recent years, our wage increases have slowed and our benefit plans have shrunk to offset rising health care costs. Workers and retirees were paying more and getting less- and we demanded that Congress take action on our largest grassroots mobilization and campaign to date. And we saw great success. With the passage of the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, the decades-long struggle to make health care accessible, affordable and available to all has been achieved.
Tax Extenders Bill including the Reverse Morris Trust Repeal
May 27, 2010
Many Members of Congress have been talking a great deal about giving Americans the support they need to bounce back in the job market. The Tax Extenders bill represented a final opportunity for Congress to back up their rhetoric with action, and while the House delivered, the Senate did not, due to a Republican filibuster of the bill. This bill would have closed many tax-loopholes that have been hurting workers, consumers, and our national deficit since before this crisis began, including the Reverse Morris Trust (RMT) tax-loophole. The RMT tax-loophole is a Wall Street scheme that allows big businesses to avoid paying taxes on the sale of company assets. Additionally, the benefit extensions and tax cuts included in the bill might have helped both workers and employers through this woeful economy, putting people back to work. CWA supported passage of this bill to close the corporate loophole, which ultimately failed due to the need for 60 votes in favor in order to break the Republican filibuster.
Roll Call Vote No. 22. (Y = +, N = -) Failed Cloture Vote in Senate 57-41
