Feb. 03, 2003 - 18:08 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

Hunted Down

Over time unions have been losing membership and clout by big companies splitting themselves up, selling parts of themselves off and sending work overseas or south.

But this is only the beginning. Seems like our administration (Bush that is) is in the process of attempting to cut down the working Joe further yet and putting him in the conditions that our grandfathers fought to cure.

An article by Leigh Strope of the Associated Press has the following (in part), "Heeding the complaints of business, the Bush administration is revamping decades-old labor regulations in an overhaul that could force man Americans to work longer hours WITHOUT OVERTIME PAY." (caps mine).

The smokescreen, "The administration argues that the pillars of American law, which established the 40 hour work week, a minimum wage and overtime pay, ARE ANTIQUATED." (caps mine).

"Nothing prohibits employers from requiring as many hours as they want," said Chris Owens, public policy director for the AFL-CIO. "The over time pay reqirement is the ONLY thing that acts as a brake on EXCESSIVE WORK HOURS." (my caps again).

Further along, "Employer groups such as the Chamber of Commerce complain that under the complex rules involving job duties and salary levels, many highly skilled, well paid professional workers are required to get overtime pay." Note the wording ? Doesn't say that their employers are required to pay for overtime. "A surge in overtime pay litigation aimed at employers also is a concern."

So much for the article, I'm winging it from here. I have at one time or another been on both sides of the fence. When I moved from assembly to the Test Lab I was no longer under the protection of a union, I was then considered an administrative worker. I could belong to a union and pay the dues but really wasn't under a union's protection. I have worked in a non-union environment where the rules were stretched to the utter limit. One thing there was that no one could refuse to work overtime and the work was of a hazardous nature where fatigue played a good part in safe working conditions. We owned a small flower shop once and had a very small workforce and saw the disadvantages of being an employer.

I cannot forget that people were killed in the fight for the forty hour week, time and a half for overtime, I know the reasons for the need to fight for those things. Another thing that came about from union activity was vacation time with pay. I remember work that was once an employee's taken away and given to an administrative employee because the company didn't have to pay the admin. type overtime.

I remember working piecework and noting that if a man figured a shortcut to doing a job and getting the extra pay for the piecework he was doing, soon there would be a time study man with clipboad and stopwatch timing every movement of the man doing his job. Then of course he suddenly had to jump through his buns to even make a living wage.

I don't know how to talk to the younger people who think they are so damn indepedent that they think they will be able to, by their winning ways and efficiency, get an employer to pay them fairly and give them enough time to get rest and a vacation. Next I suppose the powers that be will try to do away with paid holidays, another thing which has been fought for, while the overpaid CEO's and their ilk take as much vacation time as they wish.

To me it is all about treating employees fairly. If a piece worker is making his quota at a certain wage and the company is making a profit -- then retiming the job actually takes from the employee for the companies profit. If it was worth xxxx per piece -- so what if the employee figured out how to do more pieces per day ? Should that knock the rate per piece down ?

There have been many studies that have shown that breaks are necessary through the work day, I have seen it when I could take my breaks and still put out more than the dunderhead who wouldn't take a break. It has pretty well been proven that working more than eight hours at a stretch is highly inefficient and unprofitable in the long run, unprofitable no matter the wage, salary level of the drudge who is forced into that dreaded overtime. Not only unprofitable but in many cases unsafe also. But what the heck, let the employee take the blame. I have worked non-union places where safety was not a consideration, where unhealthy conditions were part of the job and if you didn't like it -- hit the street.

Yes I know, there have been abuses on both sides, but you know and I know that the employer makes the profit, often at the expense of his employees.

Is there anyone in Congress who gives a damn about the guy or gal who has to work for a living ? Oh those poor, poor employers making poor mouth.

By the administration and various layers of bureauocracy it appears we are being Hunted Down . . . . . . . . . . .

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