TWU 556 Contract Announced

If Gwen York, a leading member of our Dallas AFL-CIO Central Labor Council, seems especially happy lately, it may have had something to do with contract negotiations. TheDallas Morning Newsannounced on July 3 that the flight attendants at Southwest Airlines had a contract. No details were given, but the article called it "industry leading!"

AFL-CIO Stops Ban on Political Contributions

The CWA News reports that the national AFL-CIO has stopped their ban on political contributions now that the "Fast Track" issue has passed. They continue to recommend that union political action committees give no money to anyone who voted against us on the issue. They list these North Texas Congresspersons: John Cornyn (R-TX) , Ted Cruz (R-TX) (but we had info that he changed on the final vote), Joe Barton (R-6th TX) , Kay Granger (R-12th TX) , Jeb Hensarling (R-5th TX) Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-30th TX Sam Johnson (R-3rd TX) Kenny Marchant (R-24th TX) .

Overtime Pay Rule Finally Being Updated

The Obama Administration has announced new overtime rules to go into effect in 2016. It's very good news for working people. A lot of people will get a lot more money, unemployment will be positively affected, and the schism between salaried and hourly workers will be partially reconciled.

Today, salaried workers who make more than $23,660/year have to work whatever hours their bosses set for them. Extra work usually doesn't mean any extra pay. Bosses, of course, try to make as much of their workforce "salaried" as possible so they can avoid the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, especially the part that says American workers have to get time-and-a-half pay any time they work more than 40 hours in a given week. The bosses like to call ordinary workers "managers" or "professionals" just to keep their paychecks low!

Bosses hate paying overtime; consequently they may actually hire more people!

The new regulations would raise the cap to $50,440/year, so any "salaried" worker making less than that would fall under the overtime law and start collecting bigger paychecks when they put in extra hours. The Dallas Morning News estimated 4.7 million Americans and 400 thousand Texas workers would get that benefit.

But the benefits won't stop there. President Obama's new rules also mean that fewer workers will be misclassified as "salaried" to begin with, which means more hourly workers, who generally find it easier to organize. The bosses' continuous use of "salaried" workers to take work away from hourly people will be diminished. The result is that salaried and hourly workers will be more unified than currently. Every step toward unity is a victory!

Congresspersons at Home Through July 6

Don't fail to call or visit your congressperson when they are home during congressional recess. Activists with the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans visited both Congressman Veasey and Congresswoman Johnson's office in early July. They are sending a large delegation to Washington DC July 7-11.

Phone numbers and addresses of congresspersons are listed atwhoismyrepresentative.com.

More Actions Coming Up

Jul 8, 7PM: Monthly Jobs with Justice meeting at 1408 N Washington. Call Rosemarie 214-632-5695

Jul 11, 7 PM. Cuba Caravan at Pan African Connection. 828 4th Ave. Call Akwete at 214-417-6463

Jul 13: White House Conference on Aging

Jul 16: Texas AFL-CIO convention at the Downtown Sheraton in Austin

JUl 16, 4PM: State Conference for Texas Alliance for Retired Americans, Tannehill Room, Downtown Sheraton, Austin.

Jul 18, 10A: Dallas mtg with Congressmen Veasey and Gutierrez on Dapa/Daca. North Oak Cliff Library 302 W. 10th Street. at 1:30, they meet at Northside Community Center, 1100 NW 18th Street, Ft Worth 76164

Jul 25, 6PM: Young Workers social gathering at 1408 N Washington

Retiree delegation visited Congressman Veasey's office

--Gene Lantz, Press Secretary