(Washington, DC) – International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa today praised a Senate vote to block an Administration effort to issue new overtime rules that would take away the rights of more than eight million workers to overtime pay.

“Proponents of the overtime changes say that the current rules are outdated. There’s nothing outdated about a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work,” Hoffa said.  “In fact, these changes take money out of working families’ pockets. They help greedy corporate leaders—not workers.”

The vote was 54-45 in the Senate. In July, an identical House amendment failed by three votes. The Teamsters applaud those members of Congress—Democrat and Republican—who see through the overtime charade as another money grab by big business to the detriment of working families. The fight to protect overtime rights now moves to a Senate-House Conference Committee. The Department of Labor estimates that some 11.6 million workers earned overtime pay in 2000 alone. Denial of access to this vital income source for families would further cripple America’s economy and shift even more power to managers and company executives.

“If employers do not have to pay overtime, or any compensation for over 40 hours, workers will be right back where they were before the Fair Labor Standards Act was enacted—overworked, underpaid, and serving at the whim of their employers,” added Hoffa. “The Administration hasn’t learned that overtime without pay doesn’t buy food, it doesn’t pay the mortgage, and it doesn’t help save for college educations and retirement. We must protect the worker’s right to get paid for their time on the job. Without this vital protection, corporations will be on track to scrap the 40-hour workweek, the lunch hour and paid vacations and sick leave.”

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is celebrating its 100-year anniversary as a representative of and advocate for working families