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.

Analysis from the Economic Policy Institute shows millions could lose overtime pay, possibly including firefighters, police officers, nurses, retail clerks, certain medical technicians, military reservists, tech workers and many, many more. Under the Bush plan, you still may be forced to work overtime hours—but you might not be paid for the extra hours.

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 firefighter 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.