WP-Overtime Pay Battle Threatens Trade Bill

[LiviaOlivia]

By Helen Dewar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 24, 2004

A months-long Senate fight over proposed new rules on overtime pay for U.S. workers is threatening to derail a high-priority bill aimed at ending trade sanctions by Europe that could eventually cost American exporters $4 billion a year.

The bill to substitute corporate tax cuts for export subsidies that have been outlawed by the World Trade Organization has broad, bipartisan support in the Senate. But the Senate is more closely divided over a Democratic proposal to add a provision that would block a Bush administration proposal to reduce overtime pay protections for many white-collar workers.

Republican leaders have scheduled a showdown vote today on a parliamentary move aimed at avoiding votes on such issues. Democrats say they have enough votes to pass the overtime pay provision and keep Republicans from passing the tax bill without it. Republicans have hinted strongly that they will shelve the bill rather than vote on the Democrats' agenda.

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The overtime pay dispute arose out of a proposal by the Labor Department last year to expand eligibility for overtime to low-paid workers while reducing it for many better-paid workers. The department said the change could mean loss of overtime for 644,000 workers. Democrats said the figure was more like 8 million.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18957-2004Mar23.html

[w4rma]

1. This is a fight that needs to be well publicized

The Republican leadership is opposing overtime pay for employees. Imho, this will even anger the Freepers.

[Fitzovich]

2. It should

bother anyone that works for a living. But, then the public need to be paying attention and that is of course the real worry about almost everything we are dealing with these days.

[mitchtv]

3. of course it would help if

westinghouse,disney, and the rest of corporate media would relate the story