Unions Protest New Overtime Regulations
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WASHINGTON - Several hundred union members marched outside the Labor Department to protest new overtime pay regulations taking effect Monday, with two senators pledging to try to roll them back when Congress returns from recess.    Protesters, many wearing union T-shirts, carried signs such as "President Bush: Hands off my overtime pay," and chanted, "Come on all you billionaires, give us wages that are fair."  "The fight is not over yet," said Republican Sen...
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WASHINGTON - Paychecks could surge or shrink for a few or for millions of workers across the country starting Monday, when sweeping changes to the nation's overtime pay rules take effect.    There is little agreement by the Bush administration, employer groups, labor experts and others on how many workers will gain or lose the right to overtime pay under the new rules in the Fair Labor Standards Act...
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After months of heated debate, a major revision, protests and an unsuccessful legislative assault, the most sweeping changes to the nation&#39;s overtime rules in more than 50 years take effect tomorrow.
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In a sharp rebuke of a new administration policy, the House moved Thursday to block the Labor Department from carrying out overtime rules that critics argued could deprive millions of workers of their overtime pay.
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Hundreds of workers rallied on the steps of the Labor Department yesterday to protest the implementation of new rules they say
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Hundreds of thousands of civil servants go on strike on Friday in protest at looming job cuts.
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Two German railway unions launched a campaign of limited walkouts Monday in a pay dispute with the national rail operator, causing disruption in parts of the country. via CFRB
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LABOR: Members march outside the Labor Department in Washington, DC, to protest the regulations that took effect Monday. BY LEIGH STROPE.
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As controversial new federal overtime rules went into effect Monday, Gov. Blagojevich used the occasion to fire off a letter to US Labor Secretary Elaine Chao touting Illinois&#39; successful efforts in blocking much of their impact in the state.
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Thousands yesterday responded to a call from several unions to join a rally organised by the General Workers' Union to protest against the government's plan to cut the number of public holidays.
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Salaried workers who have been getting overtime pay should take notice: The rules are about to change. Under new federal regulations that go into effect tomorrow, some white-collar workers
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Labor protests in the high-tech industry are rare, but IBM is in midst of one -- and it&#39;s unfolding entirely online. Instead of waving protest signs outside the company gates, affected workers are airing, in comments accompanying an online petition, disappointment, anger, and bitterness with the company over a salary cut&#160; IBM&#39;s U.S. workforce.Since its announcement last month, more than 1,200 people have signed a petition sponsored by the Alliance@IBM, protesting pay cuts to 7,600 technical support employees.. Whether all these signatures are from affected employees is not certain, but many of the comments seem authentic, and often heartfelt.Comments such as &quot;11 years on call ... Now less money than when in started in 97,&quot; &quot;Previous loyal employee ... No more,&quot; and &quot;This is not fair. I did not deserve this after all my hard work,&quot; are typical.This change in how technical support workers are paid stems from a federal class action lawsuit filed by some employees in early 2006. In it, the workers complained they were not getting paid overtime after a 40-hour work week and they sought back pay. IBM settled the case that same year for $65 million.Last month, IBM told workers that it was reclassifying technical services and IT specialist jobs to nonexempt positions, making them eligible for overtime. But the company said it was also making a 15% base salary adjustment -- down.Overtime pay, as a well as a transition payment to help where overtime doesn&#39;t meet the base pay adjustment, will offset this pay cut according to the company. The company characterized the change as a &quot;pay remix&quot; in a series of slides to managers that was subsequently leaked. But not all the employees will be able to offset the pay cut with overtime, according to information sent to managers; about one third of the affected employees are working on average less than 45 hours a week, the apparent salary parity threshold.IBM spokesman Fred McNeese said that were IBM to pay overtime on top of salaries that were already competitive with the industry, the company would be uncompetitive. McNeese&#39;s point is listed as a key one in the slides sent to managers. &quot;Adding overtime compensation to already competitive pay would quickly produce costs that exceed competitive levels -- an undesirable result for employees and our clients.&quot;McNeese believes that overall compensation for employees after the change &quot;should be the same.&quot;Two affected employees, who spoke on the condition that their names not be used, disagreed that their pay would be similar. They argued that overtime was far from certain, required managerial approval, and opportunities for it could vary depending on business. Moreover, the cut in base pay affected those aspects of compensation calculated on base salary alone, such as insurance and disability. They also argued that it could affect personal areas, such as ability to qualify at a certain mortgage amount. One employee said that it rolls back his salary to what he earned in 2001.The employees were also skeptical of the company&#39;s assertion that this change wasn&#39;t put in place to cut overall costs, and there are suspicions that wage pressure from offshore centers may be at work -- something IBM denies. &quot;As far as I am concerned, they are going to save money,&quot; said one employee.Lee Conrad, a former IBM employee who is now national coordinator of the Alliance@IBM in Endicott, NY, said he believes globalization may be a factor in the pay cut decision and suspects other companies will be looking at how IBM manages the pay cut. &quot;If IBM is an indication of what&#39;s ahead, it&#39;s going to be a rough ride for American workers,&quot; he said.The union, which is part of the Communications Workers of America, represents about 6,000 of IBM&#39;s total U.S. workforce of 125,000. It would need at least 60 percent membership to have bargaining power with the company, said Conrad.Conrad said he been impressed by the outspoken reaction of IBM employees. &quot;For IBMers to sign their name publicly to a petition -- that says a lot,&quot; he said.Computerworld is an InfoWorld affiliate.&#160;
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Controversial new rules regarding overtime pay went into effect Monday, with the Bush administration and labor advocates squabbling over how many US workers are affected.
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Paychecks could surge or shrink for a few or for millions of workers across the country starting Monday, when sweeping changes to the nation's overtime pay rules take effect.
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BOCHUM, Germany Thousands of General Motors employees at its European factories are staging protests to fight what they call &quot;bad management.
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By our reporters. Some 50,000 auto workers took part Tuesday in protests against plans to cut 12,000 jobs at General Motorsâ European subsidiaries.
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The AFL-CIO, United Steelworkers, and other leading labor unions have announced their opposition to proposed legislation that would overhaul the U.S. patent system.