Congressman Cleaver Demands Data on Temp Workers in Big Tech
In a Letter to Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and 19 Other Big Tech Companies, Cleaver Calls for Information on Temp Worker Demographics, Pay, Treatment, and More
(Washington, D.C.) – This week, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) delivered a congressional inquiry to 24 Big Tech companies, including Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, demanding a variety of data on their usage of temporary workers.
In a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of each company, Congressman Cleaver wrote:
"According to a recent report from Temp Worker Justice and the National Employment Law Project, temporary workers face many injustices, including unequal pay for equal work, false promises of permanent employment, the abridgement of union rights, sexual harassment, discrimination, and reduced or non-existent benefits. Temporary workers account for 40 to 50 percent of the workforce at many technology firms, yet Congress has been provided with limited information about their employment. To better inform Congress and the constituents we represent, I seek additional information regarding your company's practices in employing temporary workers."
In their report from last month, Temp Worker Justice and the National Employment Law Project found that "Temp and other subcontracted workers in the tech industry are a second-class workforce comprised disproportionately of people of color who do much of the same work as permanent, direct-hire employees but for less pay, worse benefits, no job security, and a high likelihood of discriminatory or other illegal treatment." Congressman Cleaver's inquiry is an effort to provide Congress with specific data on Big Tech's utilization of temporary workers, and to determine if congressional action is needed to address shortfalls in protections for these workers who play a pivotal role in the American economy.
Congressman Cleaver has long been an advocate in Congress for temporary workers, introducing the Restoring Worker Power Act with Representative Joe Kennedy III in the 116th Congress, which would comprehensively overhaul federal protections for temporary workers and ensure they are given equal pay. Cleaver was also an original cosponsor of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would expand a variety of labor protections related to employees' rights to organize and collectively bargain.
The letter from Cleaver was delivered to the CEOs of Activision Blizzard, Adobe, Amazon, Apple, Arrow Electronics, Cisco, Dell Technologies, Electronic Arts, Facebook, Fiserv, Google, Hewlett Packard (HPQ), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), IBM, Intel, LinkedIn, McAfee, Microsoft, Oracle, Splunk, SAP, Tesla, Verizon, and Xerox.
The official letter from Congressman Cleaver is available
Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee; Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance; member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress; member of the Committee on Homeland Security; and a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. A high-resolution photo of Congressman Cleaver is available here.
