NEWS: Congressman Greg Casar, Former Labor Organizer, Appointed to Education and Labor Committee and Elected Vice Ranking Member

WASHINGTON – This week, Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas) was appointed by Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to the Committee on Education and Labor for the 119th Congress. Casar was also unanimously elected by his colleagues on the Committee to serve as Vice Ranking Member.

“I have an idea that Republican politicians might think is radical: labor should be the priority for the Education and Labor Committee — not billionaire donors," ” said Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas). “In the last Congress, the Republican majority passed zero laws requiring higher wages for workers. House Republicans held zero hearings on getting Americans a decent pension, better health care, or a union contract. Instead, House Republicans focused entirely on culture war issues in order to divide the American public while the wealthiest people in the world rip us all off.

“As a former labor organizer, I know that holding big corporations accountable and raising wages for workers unites Americans of all kinds. Education and Labor Democrats will use every day, every meeting, and every hearing to expose how House Republicans prioritize their billionaire buddies over the needs of American workers.”

As a City Council Member, Casar sponsored legislation that raised the minimum wage for thousands of City workers from $7.25/hour to over $20.00/hour today. Casar championed the paid sick day laws that applied to hundreds of thousands of workers across San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas. Casar led efforts that brought Austin, Texas its first union private hospital, its first union hotel, its first union food-service contracts at the airport, its first union mental health agency, along with many stronger union contracts. Casar held a thirst strike on the US Capitol steps in 2022 that helped drive President Biden’s stronger enforcement of policies protecting workers from the extreme heat.

Since 1995, Republicans have renamed the Education and Labor committee to the “Committee on Education and Workforce” whenever they hold a majority in the U.S. House. Casar will also continue serving on the Committee for Oversight and Accountability.

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Congressman Greg Casar represents Texas’s 35th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which runs down I-35 from East Austin to Hays County to the West Side of San Antonio.  A labor organizer and son of Mexican immigrants, Casar serves as the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the 119th Congress. He also serves on the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability.