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Labor Prevails to Defeat Comp
Time Legislation

June 11, 2003

Late in the day before a vote was to be held on a sweeping overhaul of rules that would have taken billions of dollars out of the paychecks of American who work overtime, the leadership of the House of Representatives yanked it from the schedule.

"This is a victory for every hourly worker who risked losing hard-earned pay in favor of rules that would have allowed employers to take advantage of their labor," said IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill.

The "Family Time Flexibility Act" would have permitted employers to offer compensatory time off for workers instead of overtime pay, encouraging employer abuses such as giving extra hours to workers who accept comp time and denying time off to those who prefer cash.

Representative George Miller (D-California) said, "Republicans introduced a comp time bill. We call it a 'con time' bill." He claimed employers would give workers time off only at the company's discretion, not when workers necessarily need the extra time. He said the measure would undermine the 40-hour workweek, and workers would be asked to work extra hours for "a promise" of later time off.

The significant victory for the labor movement comes after a months-long AFL-CIO-coordinated grassroots lobbying campaign by union members, said International Representative Liz Shuler. Nearly 60 moderate and freshman House members were targeted.

"IBEW locals through the central labor council network we were one of the most active unions in that process," Shuler said. "Some members had heard such overwhelming opposition from constituents, they said they couldnt have voted against them."

Republican leaders decided to abandon their effort to push for the vote after it became apparent that they didnt have the votes to win. But Shuler warned the celebrations could be temporary; the leaders could have postponed the vote to allow more time to twist the arms of the moderate Republicans who expressed support for labor on this issue.

Overtime Rules Menace Workers Nationwide ... May 30, 2003

Bush Proposes Changing Federal Overtime Rules...April 2, 2003

Overtime Pay...U.S. Department of Labor

The Dark Side of Wal-Mart...April 2003 Journal