Nelson Lichtenstein, a research professor of U.S. labor history at University of California, Santa Barbara, tells TIME “there’s a realization out there, which transcends the labor movement, transcends even liberalism, that this (current) system is really broken, and corporations are taking advantage of it.”
Republican critics of the bill argue it represents government overreach and could actually harm the job market and workers’ rights.
Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan, who chairs the Education and Workforce Committee, sharply opposed the bill on the floor, arguing it takes power away from the workers.
Walberg said the legislation “fast-tracks government intrusion into private workplaces, and it erodes workers’ rights.”
“Let’s call this bill what it really is, a massive expansion of Washington’s power over American workers and job creators. It is the latest attempt to put workers under the thumb of federal bureaucrats,” he argued.
