Political Quotes

“workers of the United States have a right to say show me the money, not in comp time but in overtime payment. H.R. 1 is not about flexibility or families or constructive reform of labor law. H.R. 1 is about undermining and ultimately destroying the Fair Labor Standards Act on behalf of those who wish to avoid their legal obligations to their workers. This bill would open the door to employers to coerce their workers to accept comp time instead of receiving overtime in a timely manner. This bill would turn back the clock to the days of 16 tons. My colleagues remember Tennessee Ernie Ford: ``You load 16 tons, and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt. St. Peter, don't you call me because I can't go. I owe my soul to the company store.'' American workers will not accept owing their soul to the company store in terms of comp time. This bill exchanges an economic right, a legal right that workers now possess, the right to obtain time and a half payment for overtime work for an IOU, an IOU issued by their employer to maybe give comp time in the future. H.R. 1 would encourage companies to schedule more overtime because companies would not have to pay their workers for it. More overtime means fewer jobs. In this era of labor saving technology and falling real wages, when working families are struggling with two jobs, the 40-hour work week plus overtime is already too long.”