Home > Rick Santorum's Anti-Worker Record

 

Santorum’s Record Opposing Working Men and Women

• • Rick Santorum has earned miserable vote ratings on issues important to working men and women. In the Senate, he has only voted with the AFL-CIO 12% of the time. AFSCME gives Santorum an even lower 2% lifetime Senate vote rating. (AFL-CIO 2004 Scorecard, AFSCME 2004 Scorecard)

• • Santorum introduced legislation to eliminate the 40-hour workweek and overtime pay. Santorum’s amendment would have also prevented states from raising the minimum wage for restaurant employees. (S.AMDT.128 introduced on 3-7-05)

• • In the Senate, Santorum has voted against increasing the minimum wage 12 times. (#344 on 7-1-95, #519 on 10-27-95, #54 on 3-27-96, #183 on 7-9-96, #184 on 7-9-96#278 on 9-22-98, #77 on 3-25-99, #94 on 4-28-99, #239 on 7-30-99, #76 on 4-7-00, #26 on 3-07-05)

• • Shortly after he introduced his amendment to block a minimum wage increase for restaurant workers, executives for Outback Steakhouse held a fundraiser for Santorum. Outback was one of the biggest supporters of Santorum’s amendment. Incidentally, Santorum flew to the fundraiser on the Wal-Mart corporate jet. Wal-Mart has a long history of anti-union activities and many allegations of questionable labor practices. (Philadelphia Inquirer, 4-22-05)

• • Before introducing his own legislation to eliminate the 40-hour work week, Santorum voted for “Flex Time” legislation that would abolish the forty-hour workweek. This ill-conceived legislation would allow employers to avoid paying overtime. (#68 on 5-15-97: /393 on 6-4-97)

• • Santorum twice voted against attempts to block new Labor Department regulations that overhaul long-standing overtime laws. Under these new rules implemented in 2004, million of workers could lose their overtime benefits. (#79 on 5-4-04; #334 on 10-10-03)

• • Santorum; voted against the Family and medical Leave Act, which has helped more than 50 million Americans take time off from their jobs to care for an ailing family member, including spouses, parents, and children. Santorum even voted to uphold the first President Bush’s veto of the Family and Medical Leave Act. (#393 on 11-13-91); #22 on 2-3-93; #4a43 on 9-30-92)

• • Santorum voted for Fast Track/Trade Promotion Authority legislation that allows the president to negotiate trade agreements without requiring the enforcement of even the most basic labor and environmental standards such as bans on child labor and on forced labor. (#207 on 8-1-02, #294 on 11-5-97)

• • Santorum voted against ending tax breaks that make it easier for manufacturer to close plants to move the plants and American jobs overseas. (#63 on 3-17-05)

• • When the steel industry was hurting in 2002, Santorum voted against considering an amendment to give steelworkers a 70% tax credit for health insurance costs. Even though the amendment received majority support of 56 votes, Santorum refused to help get the 60 votes necessary to consider the amendment. (#117 on 5-21-02)

• • Santorum voted to repeal ergonomics standards that the Occupations Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued in 2000. These standards would have implemented tougher guidelines to reduce repetitive stress injuries in the workplace. (#15 on 3-6-01)

• Santorum voted against legislation allowing public safety officers to bargain collectively. (#323 on 11-6-01)

• • Santorum voted for “paycheck deception” legislation that would unfairly infringe on the ability of union to communicate with their members. This legislation singled out unions and would have required them to obtain permission from all their members before using their dues for political purposes. Corporations would hot have been subject to the same requirements. (#17 on 2-26-98)

• • Santorum; voted for efforts to pass the TEAM Act that would have undermined collective bargaining laws and would have established company unions where employers could handpick employee representatives. (#190 on 7-10-96; #191 on 7-10-96)

• In 1995, Santorum voted to block President Clinton’s executive order barring federal contractors from permanently replacing striking workers. (#102 on 3-9-95; #103 on 3-15-95)

• • Santorum voted to weaken OSHA regulations designed to protect workers and to cut OSHA funding. (#307 on 7-14-95, #304 on 9-30-99) Santorum; also voted to slash $25.5 million in funding for the National Labor Relations Board. The motion to save the NLRB funding was offered by Senator Specter. (#300 on 9-30-99)

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