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Senate Says No to Overtime Regs

September 17, 2003

In a major victory for workers nationwide, the U.S. Senate last week rejected a Labor Department proposal that would have eliminated overtime pay for eight million Americans. But the fight is far from over.

"Wage earnersmost of whom do not work under collective bargaining agreementsowe their gratitude to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Senate Democrats and a few key Republicans who heard the labor movements strong message against this retrogressive proposal," said IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill. "This vote is good news for working America."

The Harkin amendment to the Department of Labor spending bill would prohibit the agency from implementing the regulation that would take away many workers right to overtime pay. The amendment would not prevent the Department of Labor from raising the threshold for low-income workers to receive overtime pay.

On the vote, all of the Senate Democrats except Sen. Zell Miller (Georgia) voted for the amendment. Six Republicans broke ranks and supported the amendment. They were: Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Colorado), Lincoln Chaffee (Rhode Island), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Olympia Snowe (Maine), Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania) and Ted Stevens (Alaska). In July, a similar effort to strike funding in the House of Representatives version of the appropriations bill was defeated by a narrow 210-213 vote.

Now negotiators from the House and Senate must reconcile the two appropriations bills. And President Bush has threatened to veto the key spending measure if this amendment to strike the overtime regulation is included. Labor expects a major effort by the Republican leadership to delete the Harkin amendment from the final version of the legislation.

Click here to link to the Congressional Action Center.

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