(The IBT issued the following news release on May 6.)
WASHINGTON — On behalf of the 1.4 million members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, I commend the United States Senate for voting to defend working Americans from the Bush Administration’s proposed rule to weaken overtime regulations. The Teamsters appreciate Senator Tom Harkin’s dogged determination to force Senate leadership to deal with this important issue.
For the third time, this Congress has voted to defend this decades-old right, sending yet another signal to the White House that it has gone too far in its assault on working families.
While the Senate deserves credit for rebuking the Bush Administration’s latest attempt to roll back the New Deal, this vote marks a recognition of the obvious — working families are suffering enough, and this is the worst time to take money out of their paychecks.
For families living paycheck-to-paycheck, the ability to earn overtime pay often means the difference between self-sufficiency and public assistance. These Americans deserve a break from the Bush Administration’s creeping Raw Deal for working families.
Rather than concocting new ways to punish working families, the Bush Administration should follow the lead of Senator Harkin and his 51 colleagues who voted for this legislation and commit itself to helping those Americans who find themselves facing a jobless recovery, skyrocketing healthcare costs, and the looming retirement security crisis.