New Campaign Site: http://www.saveovertimepay.com/
A new television ad by the AFL-CIO will urge working families to call their Senators to support the amendment, offered by Senator Tom Harkin (IA), that would block President Bush’s plan to take away overtime rights from as many as eight million workers. The ad will begin running today and tomorrow in Maine, Ohio and Missouri and nationally on CNN throughout the week. The Senate is expected to consider the amendment to the Senate Labor-HHS appropriations bill this week.
The 30-second ads feature an aerospace worker, Alan Rice, who says, “This means a direct 10 percent pay cut from what I’m accustomed to bringing home.” He goes on to point out that Bush’s proposed overtime changes will drastically change his family’s plans for college and retirement.
The Bush Administration’s proposed change to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) would disqualify up to more than eight million workers from their right to overtime pay, according to the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute. The changes would affect a broad range of workers, including nurses, journalists, police, cooks, secretaries, firefighters, dental hygienists, administrative workers, paralegals and more. The rules would broaden the exceptions to the overtime law, thus making it easier for employers to avoid paying overtime pay. In addition, virtually all workers earning more than $65,000 would be denied overtime protection.
“The last thing that America’s workers need is a major pay cut,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “President Bush wants to allow corporations to force workers to work more hours for less money, which means less time with family and community. The Senate should vote for this amendment to keep overtime pay for millions of workers.”
Since the 40-hour workweek became law in1938, many American workers have come to depend on overtime pay. In fact, overtime pay was 25 percent of the income of workers who worked overtime in 2000. Americans work more hours than workers in any other industrialized nation, and the current overtime laws help rein in excessive work hours. More than twice as many unprotected workers work over 40 hours a week, compared to workers with overtime protection, according to the GAO.
The AFL-CIO pointed out that if the overtime rule change is implemented, many employers will have a strong incentive to force their employees to work longer hours rather than hiring new employees, a practice which will hurt rather than help the nation’s anemic job market.
The Harkin Amendment would not bar the Department of Labor from raising to $22,100 the threshold below which low-wage workers are guaranteed overtime. The AFL-CIO has called for this threshold for guaranteed overtime to be fully adjusted for inflation and raised even higher, to at least $27,000.
The ads direct viewers to call their senators and to visit a website — http://www.saveovertimepay.com/ — in order to get more involved.
In addition to the television spots, the 13 million member AFL-CIO has organized an aggressive grassroots campaign. It includes a national union member outreach to members of Congress involving more than 300,000 people, an e-activism campaign, and member-to-member contact throughout the country. The ads are part of the AFL-CIO’s continuing educational outreach program to mobilize America’s working families around issues central to their lives and future.
Contact Suzanne Ffolkes 202-637-5018
