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Rep. Major R. Owens
Former Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1982 from New York's 11th Congressional District, Representative Owens is a member of the vitally necessary Education and the Workforce Committee, which guides all federal involvement in education, job training, labor law, employee safety and pensions, programs for the aging and people with disabilities, and equal employment opportunities. Representative Owens also serves on the Government Reform Committee.
As Ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee for Workforce Protections, Representative Owens has led the fight for minimum wage increases, blocked the attempt to eliminate cash payments for overtime, confronted the steam rolling attempt to repeal Davis-Bacon, defeated the conspiracy to dismantle the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and spearheaded the fight against legislation designed to gag labor unions.
As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Select Education and Civil Rights for six years, Representative Owens' record for passing legislation was second only in New York to Adam Clayton Powell. As Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Task Force on Haiti, he led the successful three-year fight which restored the democratically elected President.
Representative Owens has had previous high achievement careers as a public library Community Coordinator, a Community Action Executive, a New York City Commissioner, a Columbia University Professor, and a New York State Senator.