Statement by California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski

With reports this week that the Trump Administration is pushing forward with efforts to roll back the federal overtime rule, it’s all the more urgent that the California legislature take action to preserve overtime pay for working people.

Receiving overtime pay for working long hours is a measure of basic fairness that helps workers make ends meet in tough economic times. For too long, many low- and middle-income workers have been forced to put in extra hours on the job without compensation. President Obama’s overtime rule established much-needed modernization to the rule to ensure workers are receiving the pay they’ve rightfully earned. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration seems committed to ripping overtime pay from the pockets of workers who desperately need it.

In response to the federal attack on overtime, the California Labor Federation sponsored AB 1565 (Thurmond), a common-sense measure that simply restores the Obama rule in California. This bill provides a measure of stability to working people who are counting on the overtime pay they were promised. The legislature has a responsibility to stand up to the Trump Administration to ensure working people aren’t cheated out of pay they deserve. We call on the legislature to send a clear message to the Trump Administration that California won’t stand for federal policies that hurt workers and their families. We strongly urge the legislature to pass AB 1565.

###

The California Labor Federation is made up of more than 1,200 unions, representing 2.1 million union members in manufacturing, retail, construction, hospitality, public sector, health care, entertainment and other industries