WASHINGTON — Labor unions fighting legislation to loosen overtime pay requirements have won the support of a dozen or so moderate House Republicans, sending the GOP searching for Democratic votes to save the bill before a vote Thursday.
Union members are flooding lawmakers with visits, phone calls and e-mails, urging them to oppose the measure, the "Family Time Flexibility Act."
"Labor unions are working this very, very hard," Rep. Jack Quinn, R-N.Y., said Tuesday before a meeting with AFL-CIO officials. "It's a core issue for them, just like collective bargaining, like minimum wage."
Nearly a third of the residents of Quinn's district belong to unions — hence his opposition to the bill, and the Bush administration's willingness to overlook some of his labor votes.
Supporters of the bill acknowledge they've lost some Republicans on the issue. "But we've also picked up Democrat support as well," said Kevin Smith, spokesman for Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee. "We expect to have the votes and pass the bill when it comes to the floor."
For example, Rep. Charlie Stenholm, D-Texas, has signed on as a co-sponsor.
The White House supports the bill, and its lobbyists were meeting with lawmakers Tuesday.
Quinn said it wasn't clear whether the White House wants to "expend some political capital" on the overtime bill. If administration officials make clear they want the bill passed, some moderate Republicans could return to the fold.
The measure would let some employees who work more than 40 hours in a week choose between premium pay or compensatory time off scheduled at a later date, both at a 1 1/2-hourly rate. It is now illegal for private companies to offer comp time as an option to millions of workers covered by the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act.
Labor leaders say the current overtime law acts as a protection to the 40-hour work week because companies wanting more work from their employees now must provide premium pay — and often think twice about it. They also think that if the bill becomes law, employers will assign overtime only to workers who agree to choose comp time.
Stenholm, the Democratic supporter, said companies would be prohibited from those things.
"There's a lot of things being said about the bill that are myths," he said. "All I can say is read the bill and come to your own conclusions. If that happens, it should pass."
Similar bills have won House approval in the past, but this one is taking on heightened urgency for unions now that Republicans control both Congress and the White House. Unions spent almost $97 million in the 2002 election cycle to elect mostly Democrats and some moderate Northeast Republicans like Quinn.
"I think the message is getting through that this is an attack on overtime pay, which millions of Americans count on," said Bill Samuel, the AFL-CIO's legislative director. "I think the message is getting through that this really is a one-sided proposal to help employers get more work out of employees for less pay."
A vote initially was scheduled the week before Mother's Day, May 11, to bolster the idea that working mothers would benefit under the changes. It was postponed.
Smith noted that the measure has narrowly passed in the House twice before, in 1996 and 1997. Each time, there were Democrats and Republicans crossing over.
Then, unions and Democrats could count on a veto from then-President Clinton or a roadblock from Senate Democrats controlling that chamber. Not anymore.
Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Ill., the bill's House sponsor, said she is surprised by unions' ferocious opposition. When lawmakers and workers understand what's in the bill, they like it, she said.
"They are amazed," she said. "They say, 'Why would somebody vote against a bill allowing choice, that will allow workers to have more time with their families?' "
The bill may be in doubt now, but that easily could change. Organized labor has lost a lot of battles in the GOP-controlled Congress — especially the House, where leaders rule with an iron fist and defections are rare.
Even if the bill is blocked, labor leaders face a second challenge from the Labor Department. Officials there are overhauling the criteria that determines which workers must get overtime pay. The final regulation, which does not need approval by Congress, could be issued by fall.