President Urged to Reconsider Cuts to Overtime Pay
Feature Story by Ritu Kelotra - 12/3/2003
Through its "Save Overtime Pay" campaign, the AFL-CIO is encouraging Americans to defend overtime pay for as many as 8 million workers.Although the House and Senate earlier this year passed amendments to protect workers from the Bush administration's proposal to cut overtime pay, Republican leaders in Congress approved an $820 billion "omnibus" spending bill that ignores Congress's decision to overturn President's Bush's changes to overtime rules.
In response to Congress' decision, tens of thousands of union members launched a National Week of Action on December 1, 2003. In addition to encouraging Americans to educate their friends, colleagues, and family members about the important issue of overtime protection, the AFL-CIO aims to collect 100,000 new signatures for its petition, "Save Overtime Pay."
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that employees, unless specifically exempted — such as managers, certain sales employees and professionals — must be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours in a week. The changes to overtime that President Bush supports would give employers increased leeway in deciding who receives overtime compensation. All of the White House-backed changes to the "duties" tests, which determine whether workers fall into exempt categories, make it easier for employers to avoid paying overtime to their workers – even those who earn as little as $23,000 annually.
"Bush's proposal would also rob our economy of yet another incentive for employers to create jobs, as it encourages employers to work existing employees longer hours rather than hiring new workers," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said in a statement. "We hope President Bush will rethink his opposition to this critical measure protecting overtime guarantees for American workers and their families."
