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For Millions, Bush Forces Plot to End 40-hour Week
Working families need to act immediately to fight the Bush administration's attempt to destroy overtime pay for millions of workers - changes that could be in effect by fall. The Department of Labor is taking comments on the proposal until June 30.
The department is proposing new rules for administering the Fair Labor Standards Act that would broaden the criteria for job categories that are exempt from overtime pay requirements after 40 hours worked. Not only would many workers lose overtime pay under the new plan, but also employers would have the incentive to force them to work longer days and weeks.
Telephone customer service jobs would appear to be one of the biggest categories on the Bush hit list. The new rules as presently drafted say that if an employer determines that sales work is a primary part of a job - even if sales constitutes only a small portion of the work - then the job could be exempted from overtime.
While existing collective bargaining agreements would protect union workers initially, adoption of the new Labor Department rules would invite pressure from employers to weaken overtime rights in future bargaining rounds. For non-union workers, at least 20 million could lose their overtime rights instantly if the rules go into effect, according to CWA experts.
"This is probably the biggest direct assault on workers' rights and benefits, and the most family-unfriendly action by a presidential administration, that we have seen in modern history," said CWA President Morton Bahr. He said CWA and the AFL-CIO will be attacking the proposal in official comments on the rules change, and also will be putting together a coalition to fight, if necessary, in the legislative and political arenas.
The AFL-CIO says firefighters, police officers, nurses, retail clerks, various customer service workers, medical technicians, military reservists, newspaper reporters and tech workers are among the many types of workers who could be affected. The federation says overtime pay makes up about one-fourth of the average weekly earnings of workers who receive it, amounting to an average pay cut of $161 a week or thousands of dollars a year.
This is a separate issue from another attack on overtime -proposed congressional legislation that would allow employers to offer compensatory time off instead of overtime pay, with the timing of comp leave determined by the boss.
The AFL-CIO has a letter on its website that CWA members can send to the DOL as is, or edit as desired. Go to www.aflcio.org or click on this link: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/overtime4dol/ieus52ljw3x
Another AFL-CIO web link makes it easy to alert friends and family to the situation, and ask them to send the letter as well. Click on: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/overtime4dol/forward/ieus52ljw3x
The department is proposing new rules for administering the Fair Labor Standards Act that would broaden the criteria for job categories that are exempt from overtime pay requirements after 40 hours worked. Not only would many workers lose overtime pay under the new plan, but also employers would have the incentive to force them to work longer days and weeks.
Telephone customer service jobs would appear to be one of the biggest categories on the Bush hit list. The new rules as presently drafted say that if an employer determines that sales work is a primary part of a job - even if sales constitutes only a small portion of the work - then the job could be exempted from overtime.
While existing collective bargaining agreements would protect union workers initially, adoption of the new Labor Department rules would invite pressure from employers to weaken overtime rights in future bargaining rounds. For non-union workers, at least 20 million could lose their overtime rights instantly if the rules go into effect, according to CWA experts.
"This is probably the biggest direct assault on workers' rights and benefits, and the most family-unfriendly action by a presidential administration, that we have seen in modern history," said CWA President Morton Bahr. He said CWA and the AFL-CIO will be attacking the proposal in official comments on the rules change, and also will be putting together a coalition to fight, if necessary, in the legislative and political arenas.
The AFL-CIO says firefighters, police officers, nurses, retail clerks, various customer service workers, medical technicians, military reservists, newspaper reporters and tech workers are among the many types of workers who could be affected. The federation says overtime pay makes up about one-fourth of the average weekly earnings of workers who receive it, amounting to an average pay cut of $161 a week or thousands of dollars a year.
This is a separate issue from another attack on overtime -proposed congressional legislation that would allow employers to offer compensatory time off instead of overtime pay, with the timing of comp leave determined by the boss.
The AFL-CIO has a letter on its website that CWA members can send to the DOL as is, or edit as desired. Go to www.aflcio.org or click on this link: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/overtime4dol/ieus52ljw3x
Another AFL-CIO web link makes it easy to alert friends and family to the situation, and ask them to send the letter as well. Click on: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/overtime4dol/forward/ieus52ljw3x