Dear Working Families E-activist:

[Checking it Out]

Dear Working Families e-Activist:


A lot is going on in the drive to block President Bush's overtime pay take-away. Here is all the news:


The U.S. Senate scheduled but failed to vote today on new legislation to block the Bush Department of Labor from implementing the overtime pay take-away.


Unless they are stopped, it is now likely that the overtime pay take-away will be finalized before April 1. The exact date is up to President Bush and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao.


More than 500,000 people have signed the Petition to Save Overtime Pay--a huge landmark.
Together, we're doing everything we can--but unless public pressure forces Republican leaders in Congress and the Bush administration to back down, more than 8 million workers probably will lose their right to overtime pay, even though polls show a majority of Democrats, Independents and Republicans oppose the overtime pay take-away.


So, much more is needed. Please ask your friends, family and co-workers to sign the Petition to Save Overtime Pay today. They can sign online by clicking on the link below.
http://www.saveovertimepay.org/


Or, you can ask them to sign the petition by downloading and distributing the printable petition form.
http://www.saveovertimepay.org/petition.htm


While Bush and his secretary of labor are working to take away overtime pay from millions of America's workers, more than 10 million people are out of work. Worse, President Bush's economic report to Congress calls the avalanche of U.S. jobs being sent overseas a "good thing." The report says it "makes sense" for U.S. companies to make products overseas and sell them here in America. How out of touch are these people? Who are they working for?


Let's all show them the difference we can make when we speak out together. Spread the word about this petition! Forward this e-mail to your friends, family and co-workers.


Thanks for all you do. Look for more updates soon.


In Solidarity,


Working Families e-Activist Network, AFL-CIO
March 4, 2004


P.S. Check out this short animation on the Bush overtime pay take-away from cartoonist Mark Fiore.
http://www.saveovertimepay.org/ot.htm

 

[The Dissident]

The above post is such bullcrap.Here is the truth with sources not from the afl-cio.



Employment: Is Bush Trying to Eliminate Overtime?

The Left Says:

"As early as March 2004, President George W. Bush could take away working people's hard-fought 40-hour workweek and overtime -- with no meaningful increased flexibility to help workers balance demands of jobs and family."

Source: "Overtime Pay Under Attack," AFL-CIO, February 29, 2004, at www.aflcio.org/yourjobeconomy/overtimepay/underattack.cfm

What Conservatives Think:

The President is doing no such thing. Under a Labor Department proposal to update and reform the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act, the 40 hour workweek would remain in place, and so would overtime pay.

Here's how the Department of Labor describes what its proposal would do:

"For the first time since 1975, the Department's proposed regulations would raise the salary threshold -- below which workers would automatically qualify for overtime -- from $155 a week to $425 a week, or $8,060 per year, to $22,100 per year The impact of this revision will be to increase the wages of 1.3 million lower-income workers and reduce the number of low-wage salaried workers currently being denied overtime pay. Other proposed changes include revising job duties required to qualify for the exemption to better correspond to 21st century workplace realities. The old regulations, written in 1949, mention job classifications that no longer exist, such as key punch operators, straw bosses, leg men and gang leaders. Clarifying which job duties qualify for overtime pay will help workers and employers easily determine overtime entitlement for millions of workers whose status is currently unclear." (1)

Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao is adamant that organized labor's scare campaign represents what the DOL calls "myths, distortions and inaccuracies": "The Department's overtime reform proposal will not eliminate overtime protections for 8 million workers, will not eliminate overtime protections for police officers, firefighters, paramedics and other first responders, will not eliminate overtime protections for nurses, will not eliminate overtime protections for carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, laborers, teamsters, construction workers, production line workers and other blue-collar employees;and will not affect union workers covered by collective bargaining agreements . The Department's reform will strengthen overtime protections for millions of low-wage and middle-class workers, will empower workers to understand and insist on their overtime rights, will enable the Department of Labor to vigorously enforce the law, will prevent unscrupulous employers from playing games with workers' overtime pay, and will put an end to the lawsuit lottery that is delaying justice for workers and stifling our economy with billions of dollars in needless litigation."(2)
Analyst Paul Kersey of the Heritage Foundation agrees: "by raising the minimum salary level needed for 'white collar' status, the Labor Department is returning to the original intent of the Fair Labor Standards Act - to protect unskilled manual laborers from the dangers of overwork. By limiting work hours, Congress meant to reduce the dangers of fatigue and workplace accidents and allow workers more time for recreation, family and education. Executives, administrators and professionals were excluded because they were seen as having both higher compensation and greater job security, giving them better control over their own work hours."

Kersey adds: "The drafters of the original Fair Labor Standards Act probably would be shocked to learn that, under today's rules, a cook earning $13,000 a year can be considered an executive because he supervises two kitchen workers, while a technician with a $70,000 salary can receive mandatory overtime pay. More straightforward regulations will make enforcement of the wage-and-hour laws easier. Thus unskilled workers, the employees who have the least control over their working hours and conditions, will receive the maximum level of protection. Under the new rule, any worker receiving a salary of less than $20,000 will be eligible for overtime, regardless of his or her job duties."(3)

Heritage Foundation President Ed Feulner says "Chao [is] trying to make life better for low-income laborers... Today, companies can classify employees who make just $8,061 per year as 'exempt' meaning they would be ineligible for overtime. Chao has proposed raising that threshold to $22,000, a step that would immediately make an additional 1.2 million workers eligible for time-and-a-half. While that change would help the poorest laborers, it wouldn't hurt most blue-collar workers. Union members who work under collective bargaining agreements would make at least as much under the new proposal as they do today. This includes most firefighters, nurses and police officers."

So why the fuss over a proposal designed to help low-income workers?

Feulner pins responsibility on a group that benefits financially from the current outdated system: Trial lawyers.

Feulner writes: "Because current law is so confusing, many companies struggle to determine which jobs are eligible for overtime, and which are not. Trial lawyers exploit this confusion: They pore over work roles until they find groups that seem mislabeled, and then file class-action lawsuits. It's a booming business. In 2001 there were more suits filed over overtime pay than suits alleging discrimination in the workplace. And why not? If a lawyer can convince a court to agree that a company has made a mistake, he can force that company to shell out millions of dollars in back pay. For example, two years ago, the Farmers Insurance Exchange of California was slapped with a $90 million judgment because it hadn't been paying overtime to its claims adjusters. More recently, Radio Shack and Starbucks surrendered without a fight. Those companies coughed up $30 million and $18 million, respectively, to settle out of court with store managers."

Concludes Feulner: "Under Chao's changes, those white-collar workers who make more than $65,000 would lose their right to overtime under the new laws. But keep in mind the original reason for such laws: To benefit poor laborers. Middle-class managers and professionals were never supposed to be covered."(4)

Sources:

(1) "Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao Testifies in Support of Proposal to Update Overtime Protections for White-Collar Workers," Department of Labor Press Release, January 20, 2004, www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/opa/OPA2004063.htm

(2) Ibid.

(3) Paul Kersey, "Overdue on Overtime," Heritage Foundation Commentary, February 16, 2004, available at www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed021704b.cfm

(4) Ed Feulner, "Laboring for Overtime," Heritage Foundation Commentary, July 31, 2003, available at www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed073003b.cfm



Author's note: The Department of Labor has published online a convenient side-by-side comparison of the current rules versus the DOL's proposed changes at www.dol.gov/_sec/media/speeches/541_Side_By_Side.htm.



Issue Date: March 1, 2004
Author: Amy Ridenour

 

[scorpion]

§ Training pay at straight time for off shift and day off (I, II)

§ Elimination of penalty lunch payment (I, II, III, IV, V)

§ Elimination of OT meal allowance (I, II, III, IV, V, T/S)

§ Penalty hours pay for actual time worked @ 1.5x (I, II, III, IV, V, T/S)

§ Reduce OT rate from 2x to 1.5x (I, II, III, IV, V)

§ Work 40 hrs to reach OT rate for day off overtime (III, V)

look familiar

 

[Hopeful]

Dear Working Families e-Activist:


A lot is going on in the drive to block President Bush's overtime pay take-away. Here is all the news:


The U.S. Senate scheduled but failed to vote today on new legislation to block the Bush Department of Labor from implementing the overtime pay take-away.


Unless they are stopped, it is now likely that the overtime pay take-away will be finalized before April 1. The exact date is up to President Bush and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao.


More than 500,000 people have signed the Petition to Save Overtime Pay--a huge landmark.
Together, we're doing everything we can--but unless public pressure forces Republican leaders in Congress and the Bush administration to back down, more than 8 million workers probably will lose their right to overtime pay, even though polls show a majority of Democrats, Independents and Republicans oppose the overtime pay take-away.


So, much more is needed. Please ask your friends, family and co-workers to sign the Petition to Save Overtime Pay today. They can sign online by clicking on the link below.
http://www.saveovertimepay.org/


Or, you can ask them to sign the petition by downloading and distributing the printable petition form.
http://www.saveovertimepay.org/petition.htm


While Bush and his secretary of labor are working to take away overtime pay from millions of America's workers, more than 10 million people are out of work. Worse, President Bush's economic report to Congress calls the avalanche of U.S. jobs being sent overseas a "good thing." The report says it "makes sense" for U.S. companies to make products overseas and sell them here in America. How out of touch are these people? Who are they working for?


Let's all show them the difference we can make when we speak out together. Spread the word about this petition! Forward this e-mail to your friends, family and co-workers.


Thanks for all you do. Look for more updates soon.


In Solidarity,


Working Families e-Activist Network, AFL-CIO
March 4, 2004


P.S. Check out this short animation on the Bush overtime pay take-away from cartoonist Mark Fiore.
http://www.saveovertimepay.org/ot.htm

March 31, 2003







James C. Little

Administrative Vice President, Air Transport Division

Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO

1791 Hurstview Dr.

Hurst, Texas 76054





Re: Summary of the 2003 Contract changes



This will confirm our understanding reached during the negotiations leading up to the agreement signed on (DOS), 2003. During these negotiations, we discussed many changes intended to achieve sustained long-term financial relief from the current provisions of the TWU labor agreements. This letter is intended to recap the majority of the agreed upon changes. Changes are listed by Title groups: I (Mechanics and Related), II (Facilities, Automotive, Cabin Cleaners, Utility and Building Cleaners), III (Fleet Service), IV (Fuelers), V (Stock Clerks), T/S (Technical Specials), Disp (Dispatch), Metro (Meteorologists), Sim Techs (Simulator Technicians) and Instrs (Ground School and Pilot Instructors).



Pay Related

Effective May 1, 2003:

§ Base wage pay reduction, varying percentages (all groups)

§ Elimination of all longevity pay(I & II)

§ Modified longevity pay, start after 17 years, current rates (III, IV, V,T/S)

§ Reduced Sim Tech Coordinator premium by $.75/hour

§ Reduced Sim Tech Skill pay to $.10/hour

§ Reduced Pilot Simulator Instructors premium to $10.00/month

§ Reduced Ground School/Pilot Simulator Instructors standardization coordinator pay to $150.00/month

§ Reduced Pilot/Simulator Instructors work unit experience premium

§ Modified shift differential to $.01, $.02, $.03 (I, II, III, V, T/S, Sim Techs)

§ Elimination of weekend differential (I, II, V, at AFW, TUL, MCI)

§ Elimination of midnight skill retention premium (Sim Techs)

§ Training pay at straight time for off shift and day off (I, II)

§ Elimination of penalty lunch payment (I, II, III, IV, V)

§ Elimination of OT meal allowance (I, II, III, IV, V, T/S)

§ Penalty hours pay for actual time worked @ 1.5x (I, II, III, IV, V, T/S)

§ Reduce OT rate from 2x to 1.5x (I, II, III, IV, V)

§ Work 40 hrs to reach OT rate for day off overtime (III, V)

§ Elimination of debrief pay (T/S)

§ Elimination of Stock Clerk driver premium

§ Elimination of AMT premiums when displacing OSM employee

§ Elimination of Early Call-In guarantees (I, II, III, IV)

§ Elimination of short turn penalty due to shift bids (Art 21 d) (III, IV)

§ Elimination of CC premium when not working as CC (III,V)







Work Rules/ Other changes and effective dates:

Effective April 15, 2003:

§ Combine Systems/Structures into Generals (Title I)

§ Added 7 day labor loan provision (Bases only)

§ Increased AMT productivity through multiple work assignments/training

§ Holidays reduced from 10 to 5. The five (5) observed holidays will be: New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day (all groups)

o Holidays- 5 days with roll @ 1.5x (I, II, III, IV, V, T/S, Sim Techs)

o Holidays- 5 days (no roll) @ 1.5x (Disp, Metro, Instrs)



Effective May 1, 2003


§ Reduce annual SK accrual to 5 days @ 100% (all except I & II)

§ Reduce annual SK accrual to 5 days, 1st two at 50% (I & II)



Effective May 3, 2003

§ 4/10s at Overhaul docks/TUL, duration of agreement

Effective within sixty (60) days of ratification:

§ Outsource RON/Ultraclean (II/III)

§ One time System protection credit for headcount reductions realized from work rule changes (all groups except Metro)



Effective thirty (30) days from ratification:



§ Reduce uniform provisioning and eliminate laundering (I, II, III, IV, V)

§ Outsource stores function at HDQ (6 Stock Clerks)

§ Relocate 4 Stock Clerks at ORD/GEM to ORD/M & E hanger



Effective as soon as practicable after DOS:

§ Change work schedule to 5 on, 2 off (T/S)

§ Reduced VC accrual one week (all groups)

§ Modify Crew Chief ratios:

AMT- 1:11.5

FSC- 1:9

Fuelers- eliminated ratio

Stores- 1:12

Benefits:

§ Medical & Dental plan modifications (all groups) Effective 1/1/04



§ SLOA Benefit Coverage reduced from 24 to12 months (all groups)

Effective 5/01/03



§ Eliminate STD Plan (all groups) Effective 1/1/04



§ Discontinue subsidized medical benefits RIF’d employees (all groups)

Effective 4/15/03





§ Modify IOD to 10 days (all groups) Effective 5/01/03 with the following transition:



o If the injury was incurred prior to 4/15/03, remaining applicable salary continuation through the end of the month up to the current 80 days

o If the injury is incurred on 4/15/03 or before 4/30/03, salary continuation for 10 days up to the current 80 days

o If the injury is incurred after 5/01/03, salary continuation for 10 days



Sincerely,










James B. Weel

Managing Director

Employee Relations



Agreed to this date:



________________________________

James C Little

Transport Workers Union, AFL-CIO


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