Statement on Overtime Pay Take-Away

Statement by California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski

 

Beginning August 23, 2004 — thanks to George Bush and his allies in Congress — employers can reclassify some six million American workers as ineligible for overtime pay.

In California, the federal overtime regulations will only apply to public sector workers who are not covered by the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC). Because many public sector workers are unionized and thus protected from these changes through their union contracts, the regulations shouldn't affect very many workers in the California.

Nevertheless, the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO is strongly opposed to the new federal overtime regulations. The regulations constitute a massive pay cut for working families in the U.S. at a time when the President should be looking for ways to help, not hurt, working families.

California should be working to help low-wage workers sustain themselves. To this end, the California Labor Federation is sponsoring AB 2832 (Lieber), which would increase the state minimum wage from $6.75 to $7.75 over two years.

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