Friday 17 May 2019

A hard day's work deserves a fair day's pay

Right now, too many people are working long days for less pay than they deserve. That’s partly because of failure to update overtime regulations for years and an exemption meant for highly paid, white collar employees now leaves out workers making as little as poverty wages, no matter how many hours they work.
  • A hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. That’s at the heart of what it means to be middle class in America. In 2015 President Obama announced new rule that would raise the salary threshold of workers covered by overtime to $50,400, from $23,660. The beneficiaries would be people like a restaurant manager who frequently worked 60 hours a week but didn’t get overtime because she earned $36,000.
  • That’s good for workers who want fair pay, and it’s good for business owners who are already paying their employees what they deserve since those who are doing right by their employees are undercut by competitors who aren’t.
  • A manager at a car wash when asked for his thoughts on the new rule has said: "It would get the people be paid the way they should be paid-and stop letting these companies use your labor for free."
  • Obama further said - he believes in middle-class economics, when everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. It’s at the heart of the fundamental choice our country faces today.
  • Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do exceptionally well? Or will we push for an economy where every one who works hard can contribute to and benefit from our success?
  • Will we invest in programs that would help educate our children, maintain our roads and bridges, and train our workers for the high-paying jobs of the future? Or will we cut these programs, and decide to give more to the wealthiest persons instead?
  • The answer is clear. Let’s invest and commit to an economy that rewards hard work, generates rising incomes, and allows everyone to share in the prosperity of a growing economy. Let’s make the critical investments we need to grow our economy and strengthen the middle class.

The workman gives as much, the capitalist gives as little, 
as the nature of the bargain will admit ... Frederick Engels



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