Tell President Bush to Withdraw His Overtime Pay Take-Away

The Bush administration has finalized the regulations to take away overtime pay from millions of America’s workers. Ignoring the protests of millions of working families and defying the wishes of Congress, President Bush moved forward with this pay cut. George W. Bush is now the first president in U.S. history to rewrite the overtime eligibility rules to take away workers' overtime pay.

He needs to feel the heat! Please act today by sending a letter to President Bush. We'll deliver your letter via email with a copy to your U.S. senators. Please add your own words to the letter below to personalize it with your own thoughts and feelings.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Withdraw your overtime pay take-away

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I was angered to hear about the final regulations that would take away overtime pay from potentially millions of America's workers. Overtime pay should be the right of every worker in America. Working families count on overtime pay for everyday needs like housing, food, transportation, health care and more. Without overtime pay these families will suffer a huge pay cut.

I am upset that you would side with corporate campaign contributors over working families--especially after so many people sent letters, e-mails, faxes or signed petitions opposing this pay cut and Congress voted to protect overtime pay.

I will use this issue and your actions to judge your commitment to working families. I urgently await your reply.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
April 20, 2004


Background Information

Overtime pay cuts being pushed by the Bush administration are slated to go into effect for millions of workers unless Congress acts to block them. These changes would erode the 40-hour workweek and mean that if you receive overtime pay now, you might not in the future.  Both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House voted to oppose the Bush overtime pay take-away. Ignoring the protests of millions of working families President Bush pushed forward with his overtime pay take-away.

Under the Bush plan, you still may be forced to work overtime hours—but you might not be paid for the extra hours. Workers earning as little as $23,660 a year could lose their overtime pay.

Overtime pay makes up about one-fourth of the average weekly earnings of workers who receive it. That is an average pay cut of $161 a week and can add up to thousands of dollars a year. Can you imagine the government cutting the pay of a moderate-income worker by thousands of dollars per year? How much would you lose? These overtime pay cuts are like a giant new tax on working families by a president who, at the same time, works hard to give tax breaks to millionaires.

With a failing economy, millions out of work and staggering health care and prescription drug costs, this is a burden America’s workers should NOT have to bear. The overtime rules protect workers from bosses who would impose unbearably long hours if they didn’t have to pay extra for overtime work. Many workers would have less predictable work schedules because of the increased demand for overtime work.