Call To Action
U.S. House of Representatives Just Voted to Take Away Overtime Pay
Bill Now Moves to U.S. Senate for Vote
Earlier this week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the misnamed “Workers Families Flexibility Act” (HR. 1180) – the vote was 229-197. Thank you for your calls and emails to members of Congress over the past week. We held ALL of the Democrats and convinced 6 Republicans that this bill was bad for workers.
The vote was a misguided attack on an 80-year old New Deal labor protection that guaranteed fair pay for overtime work.
Every Republican who voted for this bill voted against the American worker! Despite its name, the “Working Families Flexibility Act,” would undermine overtime work and time off from work by transferring millions of dollars from the paychecks of American workers to the CEO’s and shareholders of the largest corporations.
This “comp time” bill will now move to the U.S. Senate for a vote. The Senate must reject S.801 and then help advance the kinds of policies that people need in the workplace, such as paid sick days, paid family and medical leave, fair pay and flexible schedules.
H.R. 1180 moved at rapid speed through the House committee process leading up to a final floor vote. And now Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants to move the bill through the Senate even faster.
We need to call our Senators and urge them to vote NO on S. 801 today!
Here’s a short script for you to use:
“Hello, my name is___________________ I am from (City and State) and I am calling to ask (Senator _________) to oppose the Working Families Flexibility Act (S. 801).”
(Choose one or two paragraphs)
“The Working Families Flexibility Act would result in a pay cut for people who work more than 40 hours in a week without any guaranteed flexibility or time off. The bill would give employers the final say over a person’s ability to take the time they’ve earned.”
“S. 801 would give working people less flexibility, less pay, and less time off. The bill would make it harder for people to get extra hours to make ends meet, and it wouldn’t guarantee the paid time off we need to care for our health or our loved ones.”
“I think there are better options – like paid sick days, paid family and medical leave, and fair wages and predictable schedules – that would actually help people meet the dueling demands of work and family.”
“Please tell (Senator__________) to oppose S.801. Thank you.”