YOU DID IT AGAIN!    10-02-03

This afternoon the US House of Representatives voted to instruct the House Conferees to accept the Senate's position on the overtime issue, thus protecting 8 million workers' rights to overtime pay.  President Bush has pledged to veto the bill and send it back until the overtime protections are removed so it ain't over yet.

Below is a statement from President Cindy Hall about the vote:

Brothers and sisters,

This afternoon you showed what can be accomplished if we all stay active and untied toward our common goals.  Thanks to you efforts we won a major victory today in the House of Representatives on the overtime pay issue.  Your emails, faxes and phone calls were critical to this victory.  All of Florida's Democratic Representatives voted to protect overtime and all of the Republicans voted to eliminate it.  Your efforts were critical in ensuring that the Florida Democrats stood up to President Bush and did the right thing.  If your Republican representative voted wrong you should contact them and let them know of your displeasure.  Thank you again for your hard work on this issue.

in solidarity,

Cindy Hall, President Florida AFL-CIO

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Statement by John J. Sweeney, President AFL-CIO

On House Vote To Bar Labor Department

From Cutting Overtime Pay

October 2, 2003

Today the House courageously rejected the Bush assault on overtime. The Senate rejected the Bush assault on overtime and nearly three-quarters of the American people overwhelmingly rejected the Bush assault on overtime in a recent poll. We call on President Bush to withdraw his assault on overtime and withdraw his threat to veto any legislation that protects overtime.

Working families are grateful to all those House members, including Republicans who broke rank with their leadership, for
safeguarding the rights and interests of workers and their families. 

The right to overtime pay is a fundamental element of the national promise that workers should get "a fair day's pay for a fair day's work'. For more than sixty years, the overtime right has been the rule for most workers, and denial of that right has been a narrow exception to the rule. The Labor Department's proposed revisions to the overtime regulations, however, would drastically broaden existing exemptions from coverage, making it even easier for employers to demand more work for less pay from their employees. These changes will hurt
millions of workers and their families.

At a time when the economy is bleeding jobs, when wages are falling and family incomes have declined by more than $1500 in just three years, when poverty is up and health care coverage is down, President Bush and his Labor Department have no business doing the bidding of American business by stripping away overtime pay protections from American workers. In fact, a poll conducted by Hart Research indicates that 74 percent of Americans oppose the administration's plan.

Both houses of Congress have now spoken - and they have directed President Bush not to take away overtime pay from working families.

America's workers and their families hope the president is listening. 

 Read the Full Story At Techs Unite Click Here

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This Could be it for Overtime Pay!!! 

Sept. 25, 2003

The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote

to block or permit President Bush's overtime pay take-away

on Wednesday, Oct. 1. Our records indicate that, while

you may have acted before, you have not yet sent a

fax to your representative this month urging him or

her to protect overtime pay. Please take one minute

right now to send your fax by clicking on the link

below.

 http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/houseotvote/8s87xd245djd 

The Bush overtime pay proposal would gut overtime protections

and pay for millions of workers. Overtime pay is critical

to working families who receive it. Michael Farrar,

a cost estimator at NAVAIR Depot, Jacksonville, Fla.,

had this to say about overtime pay:

"When I took this job, it was clear that I was expected

to work more than 40 hours a week. And I agreed to

it because I knew I'd need the money. We'd be devastated

without the overtime now--we have no more corners to

cut."

Farrar and his wife, together, care for their 21-year-old

son who has disabilities.

Please click on the link below right now to send a

fax to your representative urging him or her to block

President Bush's overtime pay take-away.

 http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/houseotvote/8s87xd245djd 

Thanks for all you do.

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Visit the web address below to tell your friends, family

and co-workers about this.

 http://www.unionvoice.org/join-forward.html?domain=wfean&r=N71Z3Y713p1k 

If you received this message from a friend, you can

sign up for Working Families e-Activist Network at:

 http://www.unionvoice.org/wfean/join.html?r=N71Z3Y713p1kE 

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