David Obey: “Mr. Chairman, if my colleagues wanted to make life more difficult for single mothers, for women trying to work their way…”

“Mr. Chairman, if my colleagues wanted to make life more difficult for single mothers, for women trying to work their way through school, for women trying their hardest to scrape by for themselves and for their children, they could hardly do worse than the Labor Department's proposed rule to effectively repeal the 40 hour workweek and end overtime pay. The rule is designed to give flexibility to companies, not to families, but flexibility to withhold rightfully earned pay from their employees by weakening the 1938 Fair Standards Labor Act, protections that safeguard our workers' rights today and make mandatory overtime a less attractive option for the employer. For 70 years, overtime pay has been time and a half. It has kept the workweek for millions of Americans from becoming unmanageably long. It allowed the employee some flexibility to make some extra cash, and for anyone who relies on cash overtime pay, it is the only way to put a roof over their family's heads, to buy groceries and pay their medical bills. Without overtime, countless Americans would be forced to take a second job to make up for the lost earnings. It would mean more time away from their families and higher child care costs.”