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Fighting For Our Overtime
The Department of Labor (DOL)
proposed revised overtime regulations that could disqualify more
than 8 million workers Guidelines.
How Would Proposed Overtime Regulations Affect Union Workers?
On March 31, 2003 the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed revised
overtime regulations that could disqualify more than 8 million
workers from overtime protection under the Fair Labor Standards Act
(FLSA). Supporters of the proposed regulations argue that they would
not affect union workers, but in fact many union workers could lose
their overtime rights. These include office workers, non-office
workers, and even factory workers who have minimal administrative
duties, low-level supervisory responsibilities, or certain kinds of
specialized training.
Collective bargaining agreements (CBAs).
Although DOL’s proposed overtime regulations do not override CBAs,
they would nevertheless have a harmful impact on union workers.
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Many CBAs simply reference the FLSA.
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CBAs typically last only three years.
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When CBAs come up for renegotiation, workers could be forced to
make concessions in the area of pay or benefits in order to
preserve the overtime protections now guaranteed by the FLSA.
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Economic competition with non-union employers will pressure union
employers to conform to the new regulations and disqualify workers
from overtime protection.
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Employers who want to eliminate contractual overtime provisions
that are more favorable to workers than the new overtime rules
will have a perverse incentive to “bargain to impasse,” in which
case federal labor law allows them to eliminate the more
protective rules unilaterally.
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Federal employees and most state and local employees do not have
the right to bargain over wages, which are set by Congress and
legislatures. CBAs do not protect these employees from immediate
pay cuts.
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Workers covered by CBAs can have their positions redefined to
remove them from contract coverage.
Office workers.
Many unions represent mid-level office workers with minimal
administrative or supervisory responsibilities who could lose
federal overtime protection under the exception for “administrative
employees” and “executive employees.” Union-represented journalists
could lose overtime protection under the exception for “creative
professionals.”
Non-office workers.
Many unions represent non-office workers who could lose federal
overtime protection because they have some administrative or
low-level supervisory responsibilities, or have certain forms of
specialized training. These include licensed practical nurses,
firefighters, police officers, funeral service workers, computer
technicians, medical assistants, dental hygienists, and an enormous
range of lower-level scientific and medical workers.
Manual and factory workers.
Supporters claim the proposed regulations would “IN
NO WAY
affect the overtime rights of the millions of Americans who perform
non-office manual work.” (House Education and Workforce Committee,
6/26/03). This is not true.
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Manual or factory workers earning more than $65,000 could lose
overtime protection if they perform some non-manual office work
and have at least one job duty that can be characterized as
“administrative,” executive” (supervisory), or “professional.”
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Changes in the overtime exception for “executives” would
disqualify many working supervisors and working foremen from
overtime protection (notwithstanding DOL’s claim that its many
proposed changes favoring employers would not have this effect).
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Proposed changes in the overtime exception for “administrative”
employees would disqualify from overtime protection many workers
who do manual work along with their administrative duties.
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An unknown number of workers could be brought within the overtime
exception for “administrative employees” if they “lead a team of
other employees assigned to complete a major project for the
employer…even if the employee does not have direct supervisory
responsibility over the other employees on the team.”
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Similarly, DOL solicits comments on changes that would bring
within the overtime exception for “executive employees” an unknown
number of non-office manual workers who exercise “customary or
regular leadership, alone or in combination with others,” of at
least two other employees.
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Many cooks and chefs with on-the-job or academic training would
lose overtime protection under the “learned professional”
exception.
Unionized industries.
A look at the employer associations “key voting” the overtime issue
is a good indication of which industries would be affected by the
new regulations. These include the National Association of
Manufacturers, the Chamber of Commerce, the Associated Building
Contractors, the National Retail Association, the National
Restaurant Association, the National Council of Chain Restaurants,
the American Hotel and Lodging Association, Printing Industries of
America, American Council of Engineering Companies, the Financial
Services Roundtable, Food Service Distributors, General Electric,
the American Bakers Association, the National Association of
Convenience Stores, Texas Instruments, and the National Ready Mixed
Concrete Association.
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Click above to download the latest leaflet on how
Union members can protect their Overtime from Washington Politicians
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