Burgess Owens: “Mr. Chairman, the AFL-CIO says there are no aspects of this bill that are truly protective of employee rights. Vote…”

“Mr. Chairman, the AFL-CIO says there are no aspects of this bill that are truly protective of employee rights. Vote against this employer-driven attempt to rob employees of their pay and benefits in the name of family flexibility. I have a number of union organizations representing workers who say the workers do not want this revolutionary change in the Fair Labor Standards Act. We can have a less revolutionary change by adopting my amendment and giving the 20 percent of the work force that has clamored for this, let them have it, and at the same time we protect the people at the very bottom who do not want to be deprived of their right to have cash to put food on their tables, to buy clothing. They need the money. They would like to have more time with their families, but they need the money most of all. That is two-thirds of the work force out there making approximately $10 an hour or less. We can protect them. This is a win-win situation. In the name of bipartisan cooperation, let us go forward. Let us not bully the people on the bottom. That is what we are doing here. We are taking our power and we are using it as a hammer against the people on the bottom. Employers will take this cash in large amounts and invest it. They want cash. Why should they give somebody cash when they can give them comp time?”