GEORGE "DUBYA" STIFFS WORKERS ON OVERTIME 

"There ought to be limits
to freedom..."

— George W. Bush,
commenting on the website
www.gwbush.com

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QUOTES OF THE MONTH:

"I did the right thing. It's a little early to project the amount of money the Legislature will be dealing with, and as you know I hope I'm not here to deal with it. I'm seeking another office." --Governor George W. Bush, on the effect of his tax cuts on the Texas budget. 7/13/00

"If you asked me, life or death, 'You've got to tell me how big the tax cut is, that George is proposing,' I couldn't tell you. I don't give a damn. Because I'm out of it. I'm out of it." --ex-President Bush, recent NYT interview

"If you don't think it's a gamble to put a man in the White House who believes we should have guns in church, who thinks the Taliban is a rock band, who was such a failure as a businessman that his company was nicknamed "El-Busto," who wants to turn our Social Security system into a Wall Street boiler room, who can't name a single thing he disagrees with Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson on, who smeared a bona fide hero named John McCain, and whose principle policy proposal is to give America's surplus to the idle rich in the form of a $1.3 trillion tax cut, you're either nuts or a Republican."
... Equal Time co-host Paul Begala, shooting the bull.

CLICK HERE FOR ANOTHER ANALYSIS OF GEORGE "DUBYA" AND HIS TAX PROPOSALS.

BUSH STIFFS WORKERS ON OVERTIME

While touting the economy this month, President Bush said, "A more productive worker makes more money" (1). But if he has his way on new overtime regulations, that will no longer be the case for tens of thousands of workers.

In a move designed to blur the issue, the Administration today said it was revising its previous effort to terminate overtime protections for 8 million workers (2). But even by the Bush Administration's own admission, the "new" regulations will mean that tens of thousands of lower-income workers will be cut off (3).  Opponents of the Administration's plan say that the revisions would still cause problems for mean millions. The regulations are so bad for workers that some state legislatures have even rushed through legislation to block them (4).

The new overtime regulations come just four months after AP reported that the Bush Labor Department began "giving employers tips on how to avoid paying overtime to some of the 1.3 million low-income workers" (5). The Administration specifically told employers they could "cut workers' hourly wages and add the overtime to equal the original salary, or raise salaries to the new $22,100 annual threshold, making them ineligible." Labor Secretary Elaine Chao testified before Congress that too many workers were filing "needless litigation" in efforts to force employers to pay them back wages (6). Her insult to workers belied the fact that judges have ordered the government to "collect more than $212 million in back pay for workers" - the most in a decade and a strong signal that the efforts to fight worker abuse are far from "needless."

Sources:

1. President Announces New Education Initiatives for Stronger Workforce, 04/06/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1880274&l=29784.

2. "8 million may lose OT pay", CNN Money, 06/27/2003, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1880274&l=29785.

3. "Administration to Revise Overtime Plan", New York Times, 04/20/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1880274&l=29786.

4. "Senate votes to preserve overtime pay", Associated Press, 04/16/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1880274&l=29787.

5. "U.S. offers tips on avoiding overtime pay", MSNBC, 01/05/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1880274&l=29788.

6. "More workers filing overtime-pay lawsuits", Seattle Times, 04/11/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1880274&l=29789 .

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