This Overtime executive order is just ANOTHER notch in Obama's belt
I gotta salute that.
I gotta salute that.
Ya'll seen Obama's second term shift though?
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Obama's Overtime Move Designed To Excite Base, Swing Voters
by LIZ HALLORAN
March 12, 2014 2:11 PM
i
President Obama speaks about raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour during an event last week in New Britain, Conn. The effort to raise wages is seen as part of his State of the Union promise of a "year of action."
Stephan Savoia/AP
President Obama's planned move to expand the pool of the nation's employees covered by overtime pay laws was hailed Wednesday by Democrats as key to their midterm election strategy.
And it was just as predictably criticized by conservatives as an overreach by a president who recently characterized income inequality as the "defining challenge of our time."
The president plans to exercise his executive authority on Thursday, leapfrogging Congress to direct the Labor Department to come up with guidelines that would set a new, higher income threshold at which employers are required to pay overtime.
Under current law, only workers earning $455 per week or less are eligible for overtime pay, though two states — California and New York — have independently raised their overtime minimums.
"Working- and middle-class people are not just feeling pressed, but really squeezed," says Mike Lux, a co-founder of Progressive Strategies, a Washington-based political consulting firm. "In that environment, populism tends to rise."
"In terms of the fall campaign, we are building a whole message around helping middle-class folks raise their wages, raise their incomes and make their lives a little better," Lux says. "This executive order, as well as the president's executive order on minimum wages paid by federal contractors, makes a huge difference politically."
Marc Freedman, who heads the labor law policy shop for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, predicted dire consequences blooming from the wage and overtime changes — and linked the problems to the president's health care legislation.
"Changing the rules for overtime eligibility will, just like increasing the minimum wage, make employees more expensive, and will force employers to look for ways to cover these increased costs," he said in a statement.
"Similar to minimum wage, these changes in overtime rules will fall most harshly on small and medium-sized businesses already trying to figure out the impact of Obamacare on them," he said.
Obama in early February bypassed Congress and signed an executive order increasing to $10.10 per hour minimum wages government contractors are required to pay as of 2015.
He has also called for an increase in the national minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 over three years, and for indexing future increases to inflation. His executive moves are seen as part of his State of the Union promise of a "year of action" that would include vigorous use of his presidential authority.
"Wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's what I'm going to do," he said in that January speech.
A White House official speaking on background Wednesday said the president is making his move on overtime pay at a time when "one of the linchpins of the middle class, the overtime rules that establish the 40-hour workweek, have been eroded."
The administration estimates that millions of salaried workers in lower-paying jobs, ranging from office assistants to fast-food workers, can be expected to work up to 50 or 60 hours a week without seeing any overtime pay.
A $250 per week threshold for overtime pay eligibility was originally established in 1975 by the Labor Department, under the Fair Labor Standards Act, for "white collar" employees; it was increased by the Bush administration in 2004 to its current $455 level. The White House argues that, adjusted for inflation, that threshold for workers today, overwhelmingly not white collar workers, would be $553.
"This should be the central focus of the fall campaign for Democrats," Lux says, characterizing the president's action on income as appealing to swing voters and the party base.
"These issues play directly to the pocketbooks of white working-class voters," he said, "and really helps us excite the base, turn out the base."
Prominent Republican pollster Whit Ayres, who counts among his clients Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, says "playing around the edges" with wage policy "is not going to address the problem of anemic upward mobility."
"The ticket to upward mobility is expanded middle-class jobs, expanded training for those middle-class jobs," Ayres says, "and making changes in government policy to allow those jobs to be created and to flourish."
At the progressive National Partnership for Women and Families, president Debra Ness hailed Obama's move as a big step for "women and working families."
"Coercive overtime is a huge problem in this country," Ness said in a statement. "When this happens, workers, families, communities and, ultimately, our economy suffer."
A new Bloomberg National Poll suggests that while Americans have decidedly mixed feelings about the president, 69 percent of those polled last week support proposals that would raise the minimum wage.
But there's a caveat, says pollster Ann Selzer, who conducted the survey: The minimum wage is not a wedge issue for voters surveyed, at least "not at this point in the game."
"It's still a theoretical thing," says the Des Moines, Iowa-based Selzer. "The middle class may start feeling that the Democrats are paying attention to them and doing something if it shows up in their paycheck."
With national minimum wage changes requiring an act of Congress, the administration, as Selzer says, is looking for "arrows in the quiver to bolster the middle class."
The administration looks to be using the executive move on overtime as an arrow designed to potentially create a paycheck effect that will actually move voters when they head to the polls in November.
"This is consistent with the economic populist stance the Democrats are driving in a pretty unfavorable environment for them," says Ruy Teixeira, a Democratic writer and commentator. "They realize they not only have to motivate their base but also mitigate the damage of white, non-college voters who are going to be their weakness."
"Whether it works or not, we'll see," he says.
by LIZ HALLORAN
March 12, 2014 2:11 PM
President Obama speaks about raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour during an event last week in New Britain, Conn. The effort to raise wages is seen as part of his State of the Union promise of a "year of action."
Stephan Savoia/AP
President Obama's planned move to expand the pool of the nation's employees covered by overtime pay laws was hailed Wednesday by Democrats as key to their midterm election strategy.
And it was just as predictably criticized by conservatives as an overreach by a president who recently characterized income inequality as the "defining challenge of our time."
The president plans to exercise his executive authority on Thursday, leapfrogging Congress to direct the Labor Department to come up with guidelines that would set a new, higher income threshold at which employers are required to pay overtime.
Under current law, only workers earning $455 per week or less are eligible for overtime pay, though two states — California and New York — have independently raised their overtime minimums.
"Working- and middle-class people are not just feeling pressed, but really squeezed," says Mike Lux, a co-founder of Progressive Strategies, a Washington-based political consulting firm. "In that environment, populism tends to rise."
"In terms of the fall campaign, we are building a whole message around helping middle-class folks raise their wages, raise their incomes and make their lives a little better," Lux says. "This executive order, as well as the president's executive order on minimum wages paid by federal contractors, makes a huge difference politically."
Marc Freedman, who heads the labor law policy shop for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, predicted dire consequences blooming from the wage and overtime changes — and linked the problems to the president's health care legislation.
"Changing the rules for overtime eligibility will, just like increasing the minimum wage, make employees more expensive, and will force employers to look for ways to cover these increased costs," he said in a statement.
"Similar to minimum wage, these changes in overtime rules will fall most harshly on small and medium-sized businesses already trying to figure out the impact of Obamacare on them," he said.
Obama in early February bypassed Congress and signed an executive order increasing to $10.10 per hour minimum wages government contractors are required to pay as of 2015.
He has also called for an increase in the national minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 over three years, and for indexing future increases to inflation. His executive moves are seen as part of his State of the Union promise of a "year of action" that would include vigorous use of his presidential authority.
"Wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's what I'm going to do," he said in that January speech.
A White House official speaking on background Wednesday said the president is making his move on overtime pay at a time when "one of the linchpins of the middle class, the overtime rules that establish the 40-hour workweek, have been eroded."
The administration estimates that millions of salaried workers in lower-paying jobs, ranging from office assistants to fast-food workers, can be expected to work up to 50 or 60 hours a week without seeing any overtime pay.
A $250 per week threshold for overtime pay eligibility was originally established in 1975 by the Labor Department, under the Fair Labor Standards Act, for "white collar" employees; it was increased by the Bush administration in 2004 to its current $455 level. The White House argues that, adjusted for inflation, that threshold for workers today, overwhelmingly not white collar workers, would be $553.
"This should be the central focus of the fall campaign for Democrats," Lux says, characterizing the president's action on income as appealing to swing voters and the party base.
"These issues play directly to the pocketbooks of white working-class voters," he said, "and really helps us excite the base, turn out the base."
Prominent Republican pollster Whit Ayres, who counts among his clients Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, says "playing around the edges" with wage policy "is not going to address the problem of anemic upward mobility."
"The ticket to upward mobility is expanded middle-class jobs, expanded training for those middle-class jobs," Ayres says, "and making changes in government policy to allow those jobs to be created and to flourish."
At the progressive National Partnership for Women and Families, president Debra Ness hailed Obama's move as a big step for "women and working families."
"Coercive overtime is a huge problem in this country," Ness said in a statement. "When this happens, workers, families, communities and, ultimately, our economy suffer."
A new Bloomberg National Poll suggests that while Americans have decidedly mixed feelings about the president, 69 percent of those polled last week support proposals that would raise the minimum wage.
But there's a caveat, says pollster Ann Selzer, who conducted the survey: The minimum wage is not a wedge issue for voters surveyed, at least "not at this point in the game."
"It's still a theoretical thing," says the Des Moines, Iowa-based Selzer. "The middle class may start feeling that the Democrats are paying attention to them and doing something if it shows up in their paycheck."
With national minimum wage changes requiring an act of Congress, the administration, as Selzer says, is looking for "arrows in the quiver to bolster the middle class."
The administration looks to be using the executive move on overtime as an arrow designed to potentially create a paycheck effect that will actually move voters when they head to the polls in November.
"This is consistent with the economic populist stance the Democrats are driving in a pretty unfavorable environment for them," says Ruy Teixeira, a Democratic writer and commentator. "They realize they not only have to motivate their base but also mitigate the damage of white, non-college voters who are going to be their weakness."
"Whether it works or not, we'll see," he says.
At what cost? 
Wondering in proponents of this think CEO's will just accept a hit to their bottom line, or "adjust" so to not effect their net income.
Either way, I suppose its good for the working class in the short term, at least.
Either way, I suppose its good for the working class in the short term, at least.
How does this work exactly? My little sister's father works at an awning company and men tioned to me several times how cheap the boss was not paying them for overtime.. does this basically mean it will make it mandatory? Sorry for ignorance just not very familiar with what this means...
No joke but you guys wanna have a thread guessing what his next executive order is gonna be....
OP do you wanna make this an official Executive Order thread since its likely we will see alot more in 2014? Addressing what we think future orders will be....or even better what we would hope he does...
So far he has had:
Overtime pay executive order
my brothers keeper
minimum wage increase for federal contractors
Telling employers not to discriminate against people who have been out of jobs for a long time and to cut slack(whether or not that may be effective)
All the russian sanctions the past several days
these are all the main ones since the SOTU speech....seems like he was finally serious about the "I have a pen" comments and not bluffing...
As for my predictions for the future orders....I see him signing in the next month an order to apply ENDA to. Federal workers...there has been talk the past 2 weeks about people in Congress asking him to do an executive order on the federal workers zince ENDA is not gonna pass in congress now..
after that I see him finally approving the keystone pipeline.....and him having a speech talking about the benefits with having the deal with TransCanada and telling Americans how it will help hire many workers and how they may have funding for infrastracture programs because Canada will help them out in return for approving the pipeline...
the main reason why he has waited so long to do it was because they wanted to wait until the state departments research on how the pipeline would have an effect on us....and finding it would not be negative...
whether is Dems win or lose in the midterms....in nov or dec he will change marijuana from a schedule 1 drug to a schedule 4 drug something Holder admitted he has the power to do.
I can see him promoting his BRAIN Initiative far more to the American public since Alzheimers is such a empatharic issue in this country
So far he has had:
Overtime pay executive order
my brothers keeper
minimum wage increase for federal contractors
Telling employers not to discriminate against people who have been out of jobs for a long time and to cut slack(whether or not that may be effective)
All the russian sanctions the past several days
these are all the main ones since the SOTU speech....seems like he was finally serious about the "I have a pen" comments and not bluffing...
As for my predictions for the future orders....I see him signing in the next month an order to apply ENDA to. Federal workers...there has been talk the past 2 weeks about people in Congress asking him to do an executive order on the federal workers zince ENDA is not gonna pass in congress now..
after that I see him finally approving the keystone pipeline.....and him having a speech talking about the benefits with having the deal with TransCanada and telling Americans how it will help hire many workers and how they may have funding for infrastracture programs because Canada will help them out in return for approving the pipeline...
the main reason why he has waited so long to do it was because they wanted to wait until the state departments research on how the pipeline would have an effect on us....and finding it would not be negative...
whether is Dems win or lose in the midterms....in nov or dec he will change marijuana from a schedule 1 drug to a schedule 4 drug something Holder admitted he has the power to do.
I can see him promoting his BRAIN Initiative far more to the American public since Alzheimers is such a empatharic issue in this country
Businesses reduce staff and cut pay all the time regardless of economic conditions. No business ever wants excess capacity and every business wants to get out as much as they can from employees. This is why businesses invest in increasing productivity, as well as push for laws that enable them to control wages and have zero accountability towards employees. They just use shyt like this as an excuse. Dont be this dumb. You were just talking about how we live under a corporatist system and here you are right back to painting corporations as victims again. Nope, foot's not coming off the neck.`
I oppose mandates like this across the board. It doesnt mean I am siding with corporations.
While this isn't one you oppose GOOD ideas that limit businesses/corporations in any way. You complain about corporatism but when it makes for good trolling you are a coproratist.
I oppose mandates like this across the board. It doesnt mean I am siding with corporations.
So let me get this straight. Because I oppose govt. mandates. I am for corporations?
Getting back to the thread topic...1. Signs order banning workplace discrimination of sexual orientation for federal workers
2. Finally approves Keystone XL Pipeline which helps have a surge in job employment
3. Has a memorandum halting all deportations with the exception of those accused of serious crimes
4. Creates an adult version of "D.A.C.A." like he did in June of 2012 with those 30 and younger
1. Signs order banning workplace discrimination of sexual orientation for federal workers
2. Finally approves Keystone XL Pipeline which helps have a surge in job employment
3. Has a memorandum halting all deportations with the exception of those accused of serious crimes
4. Creates an adult version of "D.A.C.A." like he did in June of 2012 with those 30 and younger
Speaking of "halting"....It is What he should be lobbying for legislatively with mandatory minimum sentencing ....but hey thats another story
