In 1938, as the great upsurge of industrial union organizing and victories was beginning to ebb, Congress passed and Franklin Roosevelt signed the last great piece of comprehensive pro working people labor legislation, the Fair Labor Standards Act, which established minimum wages, the eight hour day, time and half rules for overtime, and outlawed child labor. That was 77 years ago. Since the late 1970s we have seen the erosion of many of those gains, in terms of both the failure of minimun wages to grow and various devices used by employers to thwart the wages and hours rules, especially overtime pay. Today, as we might for what is really a minimum demand, a fifteen dollar minimum wage(we should remember that the minimum wage, had it kept pace with what it was in 1968, much less grown in labor favor would be twenty two dollars) we should also support the AFL and the Obama administration in seeking to establish rules that will prevent employers like Wal-Mart and others from cheating workers, large numbers of whom are low paid female and minority service workers, out of the overtime pay their labor entitles them to. Below I have cut pasted two documents and petitions, the first from the AFL-CI0, the second from Moms Rising, on this important issue that affects millions of workers today
Norman Markowitz
Have You Met Dawn? The Reason We Need New Overtime Rules
Let me introduce you to Dawn. Dawn’s employer, Dollar General, hasn’t paid her a living wage for the hours she has worked because an outdated rule about who is eligible for overtime pay said they didn’t have to. And Dawn’s not alone. An estimated 15 million workers should be getting overtime, but aren’t.
Dawn should’ve been paid for her time, or she shouldn’t have been made to work those hours. Fortunately, a lot of groups are making a big push to fix the overtime pay rules as more and more workers are made to work longer hours without being paid for the overtime. So President Obama has asked the Department of Labor to update the old rules that allow employers to do this.
As a parent I know how valuable time is when you’re raising a family. And it makes me angry to think of all the moms and dads who may be forced to work more hours but still are earning poverty wages because of this outdated rule. That time should be spent earning money to put food on the table or it should be spent at that table with their families.To be robbed of that time and not be paid for it is egregious.
Working overtime and not getting paid? A nightmare, right? We wish it was only a bad dream. But, working overtime without getting paid is a nightmarish reality for too many working families because outdated regulations haven’t caught up with inflation. In fact, right now millions of workers are working overtime but not seeing a single dime from it—putting our families, and the economy in a bind.
It’s time to change this!
Here’s what’s going on: A year ago, President Obama directed the Department of Labor (DOL) to update and simplify the guidelines for overtime pay to ensure that we have an economy that works for everyone. [1] The DOL just today released its rule on how they plan to strengthen overtime protections and now it’s time for the public (that means YOU!) to weigh in with their support. Right now is the time for you—and people across the nation—to make sure that the DOL knows we want our outdated overtime protections strengthened.
Why are people working overtime and not getting paid? In short, the current salary threshold is outdated because it hasn’t kept up with inflation, meaning that many workers may not qualify for overtime simply because they make over $455 a week, or $23,660 a year, which is below the poverty line for a family of four. This is ridiculous! In 1975, more than 60% of salaried workers were guaranteed overtime pay. Today, only 8% of salaried workers are.[2]
The Department of Labor estimates that almost 5 million workers will benefit from increasing the overtime threshold to $50,440, including 2.6 million women. [3] Earlier studies from the Economic Policy Institute estimated that raising the salary threshold to a level just above what the Department of Labor is proposing would boost pay for as many as 3.1 million moms. [4]
What moms and dads really want is to be paid fairly for the extra hours they work. This doesn’t just benefit families, it also boosts the economy because a higher overtime threshold could lead employers to hire more employees or increase the hours of part-time workers, meaning there is more money to be spent in our local communities, helping our economy as a whole. [5]
It’s time to give overtime an update! This isn’t just a matter of family economic security, it’s a matter of national economic security too. * Take action by signing onto our open letter to U.S. Secretary Perez supporting the proposal to improve overtime protections.
Moms and dads from around the country are working extra long hours but not getting paid. This is hurting our families and our economy. Just listen to these MomsRising members’ stories:
“I work sometimes seven days a week as an assistant manager from 8am to 7pm. Most of the time I don’t even take a lunch (sometimes because we’re busy and sometimes because I just can’t afford it). I’m paid a hourly salary because I work over 40 hours a week and they will not pay overtime. My husband is ill and cannot work anymore, and I am raising two special needs children. I can hardly make ends meet but I’m not in a position to do anything else. I am grateful for my job, but if we all could be paid for the overtime it would also make us feel better about ourselves and better about our jobs.”- Brenda, Texas
“Overtime pay for me was the difference between beans and rice for dinner or having meatloaf. Meat is so expensive that on a regular basis I need to struggle to purchase beans, rice, and onions for dinner. Overtime pay is our only way of trying to catch up. Forget about getting ahead. I figured out the drawbacks of becoming a salaried employee and swore that I would never do that. It is just not worth it.” –Allyson, New Mexico
“I was working a mid-level management position for a nonprofit company until the end of November. I’d been there more than three and a half years. The work load more than doubled in the time I was there. Heavy overtime was expected all the time with zero compensation. Holding a Masters level education, I was making enough to hold me just above the poverty level. I’m a single mom and one of my kids has health concerns. I made the tough choice to quit. My children have to come first!”-Karen, North Carolina
Moms and dads shouldn’t be working more to get paid less!
Since the Department of Labor is going to be making its decision soon on how it is going to change overtime guidelines, we need as many voices as possible to sign the open letter to Secretary Perez. After you finish signing, please post this link to Facebook and tell all your friends why you are supporting strengthening overtime pay.
Together we can protect hard-working mothers
