Labor

 

Davis-Bacon Act

 

Christopher believes the Davis-Bacon Act stabilizes the construction industry, prevents unfair competition, provides essential protection for workers and encourages high quality workmanship. He supports keeping current Davis-Bacon requirements in place and has voted to add these requirements to new federal contracts.

 

Minimum Wage

 

Christopher voted for an increase in the federal minimum wage, which will now climb from $5.15/hour to $7.25/hour in 2009. This legislation also included $4.84 billion in tax breaks to help ensure small businesses will be able to afford the increase.

 

In the 109^th Congress, Christopher voted for legislation that would have raised the minimum wage, and when the legislation was not brought up for an up-or-down vote on the House floor, he signed a discharge petition to require its consideration.

 

Economic analyses show that modest, incremental increases in the minimum wage minimize negative impacts on small businesses. Analyses also show when the minimum wage increases, people have more of an incentive to work, and less of an incentive to collect welfare or remain idle.

 

Employee Free Choice Act

 

Christopher is a cosponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, as he was in the 109^th Congress, and voted for this bill when it passed the House. The Employee Free Choice Act replaces secret ballot elections with automatic “card check” elections. Christopher believes the broken National Labor Relations Board process, which can take years to act on petitions, creates a burdensome threshold for unions to be recognized, and in lieu of legislation to fix the NLRB process, he supports the Employee Free Choice Act.

 

Collective Bargaining Rights

 

Christopher is a cosponsor and voted for the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act because it guarantees minimum rights to public safety employees while not preempting stronger state laws. The bill gives firefighters and police officers the right to discuss workplace issues with their employers, because in many states these public servants lack collective bargaining rights.

 

Project Labor Agreements

 

Christopher supports project labor agreements (PLAs), which are agreements between construction owners and the union(s) representing the craft workers for a particular project that establishes the terms and conditions of work that will apply for that project. These agreements have been a valuable tool on major construction projects in Connecticut, helping to guarantee skilled labor and prevent work disruptions on large public projects.

 

Aiding Unions

 

Christopher has visited with and walked the picket lines with hospital workers, nursing care workers and Sikorsky workers during their respective strikes. He stood up for collective bargaining rights for Foxwoods employees. This experience helps him understand how to vote on issues of critical importance to working families because he has walked in their shoes and has seen what they see.

 

Trade Adjustment Assistance

 

While Christopher supports free trade, he also understands there have been many workers displaced by its effects and he believes we need to do all we can to mitigate the impacts it has on families in our country. For this reason, Christopher supported legislation that would significantly expand Trade Adjustment Assistance. The legislation would increase not only the benefits workers are eligible for, but also the circumstances under which they are entitled to receive TAA.