Bobby Scott: “I thank my colleague from Virginia for yielding time, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise once again…”

“I thank my colleague from Virginia for yielding time, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise once again in strong opposition to H.J. Res. 98, the Congressional Review Act resolution to repeal the National Labor Relations Board's joint employer rule, which the board finalized last October. Workers should be able to negotiate for higher pay, better benefits, and safer workplaces through their unions. Regrettably, this is not the case for millions of Americans, including janitors, housekeepers, cooks, and many others who are employed through subcontractors or temp agencies. The rise of what is called the fissured workplace, where firms increasingly use overlapping arrangements of contracting, subcontracting, and temping, has weakened workers' bargaining power and allowed large corporations to evade bargaining obligations and liabilities. {time} 1430 For example, if an employee of a subcontractor unionized, the subcontractor would be unable to actually bargain over pay, hours, workplace safety, or other issues. That is because the actual contract is with the prime contractor who essentially sets the terms and conditions of employment for the employee, and the subcontractor is just administering the terms of that contract. Bargaining with the subcontractor becomes essentially useless because the subcontractor is paid based on assumed wages, and they don't have the ability to change those wages.…”