Overtime rules pass House

Nurses Activism

Published

New overtime rules have passed the house and will now go to the Senate for a vote.

http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Jul/07112003/business/74387.asp

One state MI senator -- Debbie Stabenow--responded to my E-mail--she's backing us up if it goes to a full senate.

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Got a form e- mail "I am interested" from one Senator. The other, Boxer, will vote for the workers.

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Specializes in MICU, neuro, orthotrauma.

askater and spacenurse will you post the letters that you sent that were efective? especially iof you have sent a letter to a republican and there was a personal response. but i would like to see any letters really. im not the best at composing letters. i wont lift directly, i just want to see different approaches/structures/skeletons to presenting the information. did you go for a personal plea or back your talk with stats? what works?

xxxx

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Government of the people, for the people, and by the people? Who are these guys (and gals) kidding? I generally lean toward Republican Party thought, but this is absolutely insane. It oozes the slime that is the George W. Bush administration. The Bush administration is slowly, surely, and systematically destroying the relationships that many people have worked to build over the past several years. He is a cowboy and I don't mean that in a complimentary fashion. GWB does not display the art and skill required of a political leader at the level of President. Just prior to 9/11 his cluelessness of what it takes and means to be President was just beginning to emerge. Post 9/11 his eagerness to invade Iraq and the tactics he used to force it on the American public and the rest of the world prove his cluelessness. Now this!! If someone can show me how this proposal benefits us, helps our economy and country I will be 100% behind it. The money corporations, and you can bet hospital corporations, would save will not incentivise them to hire more workers, they will simply increase their profits and the executive stock options, salaries, bonuses, benefits, and perks. This is America!! We are not stupid. I am not one to try to stir revolutionary action, but, the American revolution started over less than this. What will we do folks? I am not one to sit back and quietly take it from the fat cats. Never have been, never will be.

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Specializes in ICU's,TELE,MED- SURG.

These hospitals will have to give us bonus pay or increase our salaries to make up the difference.

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Specializes in O.R., ED, M/S.

This will definitly be on everybody's next union contract negotiations. I think this will be a very high priority and will be unique to the area where you work. You get enough nurses mad about this and a strike will be on the horizon. Each union across the country will have to negotiate an agreed setlement. This is where a strong union, CNA here in Calif, will be necessary to prevent a total takeover from the hospitals. The problem with this bill is that they threw everybody into it and did not look at the whole picture and hoped that the nurses would look the other way. I think they made a mistake in this thinking. Mike

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HR 1119 and S 317 are related to the family time flex act.

HR 2665 is the one about not paying time and half for hours worked over 40.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. But I'm pretty sure it is HR 2665 that we are talking about to protect our overtime pay!

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The bill that will elminate overtime pay for RNs, LPNs and millions of other working people is in the House of Represenatitives under the title HR-1119. In the Senate, its called S 317. In an attempt to preserve OT pay and preserve the 40 hr work week, an amendment was made to HR-1119 & taken up for a vote. The amendment was called HR 2660. It was defeated in a very close vote, 213-210. The ANA-supported amendment, which was offered by Congressman George Miller (D-07-CA) and David Obey (D-07-W), would have barred the Department of Labor (DOL) from spending money on new proposed regulations that would strip some workers including nurses of their eligibility for overtime pay. The Congressmen voted no on that & let the original bill stand as is with the OT pay eligibility elimination. There is no word on when they will be voting on the original bill. They canceled a vote on June 5th because they knew they didnt have enough votes to pass the original bill.

The original bill is also in the Senate as S-317. Your letters should ask your Senator to OPPOSE the changes in the Fair Labor Standards Act that will eliminate overtime pay for nurses and millions of others - oppose S-317 - and SUPPORT an amendment to it that will preserve overtime eligibility for nurses and others. You should also send that letter to Pres Bush, because when the Senators do as we ask, he can veto them & pass his new law anyway.

The letter to your Congressman, should ask him to OPPOSE HR-1119. (same bill, different number). If your Congressman supported the amendment to change HR-1119 so it could preserve OT pay (HR 2660), thank him. If he did not support HR 2660, then let him know how you feel about that. In voting NO on that amendment, the House said that the original bill, stripping OT pay from millions - including nurses - is ok as is.

To see how your Congressman voted on the amendment to change HR-1119 so it could have kept our ot pay eligibility, look him up at:

http://clerkweb.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.exe?year=2003&rollnumber=351

The Dept of Labor says they have received over 70,000 letters against eliminating overtime pay requirements and they will make their decision about changing the law after they have reviewed the comments. Id like to know why the DOL gets to make the decision. Are they elected representatives?

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Ok, my letters are off to both of my senate reps and the media as well. I have contacted my local media to ask them to cover, educate and inform the public about what the Dept. of Labor is trying to do.

Speaking of the media, has anyone seen national coverage on this subject?

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Hi Psyko RN,

I have not seen any public coverage, national or local, regarding this at all. And I have been keeping up to date with it since it was first posted on this board back in May or June.

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Originally posted by colleen10

Hi Psyko RN,

I have not seen any public coverage, national or local, regarding this at all. And I have been keeping up to date with it since it was first posted on this board back in May or June.

Hmmmmm, this has me worried.

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