Debate Questions for Mitt Romney on Employment Issues

This will continue the series a group of management-side and employee-side employment attorneys are doing on what questions we would ask the candidates in the debates. Since I handle employee-side issues, I bet you can predict some of what I would ask Mitt Romney, but here goes.

I'd start with this one.

Four years ago, you advocated letting Detroit go bankrupt rather than bailing out our auto industry during the depths of the recession. You addressed some specific solutions, including dumping existing management, saying, "The new management must work with labor leaders to see that the enmity between labor and management comes to an end. . . . Companies in the 21st century cannot perpetuate the destructive labor relations of the 20th. This will mean a new direction for the U.A.W., profit sharing or stock grants to all employees and a change in Big Three management culture. The need for collaboration will mean accepting sanity in salaries and perks. At American Motors, my dad cut his pay and that of his executive team, he bought stock in the company, and he went out to factories to talk to workers directly. Get rid of the planes, the executive dining rooms — all the symbols that breed resentment among the hundreds of thousands who will also be sacrificing to keep the companies afloat" Do you still believe that management needs to get rid of perks and be more reasonable and fair with labor?

 I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but I'd like to hear him backpedal. I might follow up with this one:

As Massachusetts governor, you worked with Senator Ted Kennedy to develop health care coverage for all employees. Yet you've opposed the strikingly similar provisions of Obamacare. How would you assure that all employees and their dependents get health care coverage?

 That should be fun. Then I'd ask:

During the primary campaign in New Hampshire, you said, “My view has been to allow the minimum wage to rise with the CPI or with another index so that it adjusts automatically over time.” Now you seem to have changed your mind, and say there's no need to raise minimum wage. Which is it? What would you do to bring minimum wage workers over the poverty level, which they are currently about $7000/year under?

I'd probably end with this one:

In 1994, you wrote a letter to the Log Cabin Republicans where you said, "I am more convinced than ever before that as we seek to establish full equality for America's gay and lesbian citizens, I will provide more effective leadership than my opponent. . . . If we are to achieve the goals we share, we must make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern. My opponent cannot do this. I can and will." In 2011, you were asked: "How do you feel about gays serving openly in the military?" and you answered, "That’s already occurred and I’m not planning on reversing that at this stage." As President, are you going to reverse gay rights in the military? Would you support adding sexual orientation to the protected categories in Title VII?

There are lots of other questions I could ask, but I know the answers. The fact is, this election is of huge importance to employees. You can either vote against your own economic interests and can buy into what Fox is telling you, or you can vote with your wallet. For anyone making under a million a year, the choice is pretty clear. I hope the middle class will see it that way.

An Employment Lawyer's Debate Questions for President Obama

This is the first in a series that I am doing along with a group of employment attorneys around the country. Management and employee side attorneys will be providing their own debate questions for the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates this week. The first candidate is President Barack Obama.

Here are some questions I’d ask the President at the debates if I had a chance:

The very first piece of legislation you signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, empowering women to recover wages lost to discrimination by extending the time period in which employees can file claims. You’ve also advocated for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have required employers to demonstrate that any salary differences between men and women doing the same work are not gender-related. Plus, you convened a National Equal Pay Task Force to ensure that existing equal pay laws are fully enforced. Why do you feel so strongly about the need for pay equity in America and what do you think about the Republican party’s strong opposition to your efforts toward pay equity?

Then I’d probably ask:

Your opponent wrote an editorial saying we should let the automobile industry go bankrupt rather than bail them out during the worst part of the recession. Do you think the bailout was worth it, and are you glad you saved over a million jobs and supported an industry that has added hundreds of thousands of new jobs when most industries are cutting workers?

I’d follow up with:

You’ve said that you believe people who work full time should not live in poverty. Before the Democrats took back Congress, the minimum wage had not changed in 10 years. Although Congress did raise the minimum wage during your administration, the minimum wage’s real purchasing power is still below what it was in 1968, and full time minimum wage workers are mostly below the poverty line. You’ve said you want to further raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit. Why do you think it’s important to make sure that full-time workers can earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation, and housing?

Then I’d ask:

You repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which limited gay and lesbian Americans’ right to serve in the military and be honest about their sexual orientation. You’ve also instructed the Justice Department to stop enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act, and you are in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would uphold the principle that the federal government should not deny gay and lesbian couples the same rights and legal protections as other couples. Why do you think it’s important to treat gays and lesbians with respect and to end discrimination against them, and what more will you do to ensure equality for all Americans?

I’d end with:

Most Americans probably think they’re entitled to some sick time off of work, yet three out of four low-wage workers have no paid sick leave. You’ve said you support efforts to guarantee workers seven days of paid sick leave per year. Why do you think it’s unfair that a single mom playing by the rules can get fired or lose wages because her child or she gets sick, and what do you plan to do to ensure paid sick leave for all American workers?

There are, of course, lots more questions I could ask. I think the choice between the candidates as far as workplace issues is crystal clear.


Here's another perspective, from Robin Shea, a management-side employment lawyer.