George Miller: “I support giving working families flexibility in their schedules, but I cannot support the Ballenger comp time bill…”

“I support giving working families flexibility in their schedules, but I cannot support the Ballenger comp time bill because it seriously threatens the existence of overtime pay and the 40-hour workweek. This bill is just one part of a series of Republican bills that favor special interests over the public interest. All across this Nation, millions of working families are facing stagnant wages and the realization that for them the American Dream may be slipping away. Between 1979 and 1989, real wages either fell or were stagnant for the bottom 60 percent of the workforce. Moreover, while corporate profits were increasing during the first half of this decade, wages were continuing to lag far behind. For many struggling families, receiving overtime pay is often the difference between making ends meet and falling behind on bills. It is no wonder then that 64 percent of Americans oppose eliminating overtime pay. Equally important for struggling families is maintaining some normalcy in their lives by keeping the 40-hour workweek as our benchmark work schedule.”