Losing overtime hurts us all
I was talking to a relative who is a computer technician. I said, “Do you realize that the Bush administration is going to take away your overtime?”
He said, “Well, I’m not concerned about that because my company doesn’t allow us to work any overtime anyway.”
Then I said, “Don’t you see that, if they don’t have to pay overtime any more, then you will have to start working it, because they don’t have to pay you for it. You’ll be working 50-60 hours a week instead of your 40, because they don’t have to pay you for it.”
He said he hadn’t thought of that.
At work, people think their union contract will protect them, so I ask them, “Do you think we’ll be able to hang on to overtime pay after all the company’s competitors stop paying it?”
Darryl GuthrieArlington TX
No thanks
I attended a protest/press conference in June about the subway fare rollback. I was handed your newspaper by a young man in his 20s and accepted it thinking somehow it had to do with the subject at hand. I’d like to say that I think it was inappropriate for your newspaper to be distributed in such a way. I believe that it ruins the credibility of such an event and makes it seem as though those involved in the protest are all right-wing (sic) idea people. While we may disagree with the fare hike and related matters, I’m sure that most of us in attendance don’t care to have an affiliation with the socialist party.
Just so you don’t think this letter was written by someone that doesn’t understand socialist ideals, I respect the fact there are people that recognize the class war and wish to change conditions for the poor and working class.
I can’t condone a socialist regime because it would mean that such a protest and the distribution of such a newspaper would not take place. Thank you for taking time to read this.
Robert StagnittaBrooklyn NY
Editor’s note: The following note was sent in reply. Thank-you for your letter. The People’s Weekly World/Nuestro Mundo is a national, grassroots newspaper that’s part of the broad, independent media spectrum in our country. It has always been our tradition to pass out complimentary copies to people engaged in struggles and attending demonstrations, since 1924 when our predecessor – The Daily Worker – first rolled off the press.
It’s a grand tradition of our country – freedom of the press – one that is under fire right now, especially with the recent FCC ruling, which will result in more corporate monopolization of the media. Many are rightfully worried that less diversity of views and information will be the result, seriously undermining our democracy.
The PWW/Mundo will continue to resist this trend and distribute our views as widely as possible.
Bring ’em home
We said, “No blood for oil,” and they said, “A little blood for a lot of oil.” No, it’s a lot of blood for maybe no oil at all. We were right. Bring our boys home.
William BungeMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Ironic lies
On his trip to Poland, George W. Bush proved he is a master of multi-level irony. After ignoring the majority opinion of European nations who were against the recent attack on Iraq, the president stated, “This is no time to stir up divisions in a great alliance” of Europe and the United States.
How can this man keep a straight face? With the daily revelations of inaccurate, misleading, and outright false information, which was used as a basis for the war, Mr. Bush wants everyone to forget his past actions. Yet there is more to the story.
Mr. Bush made his comments during a visit to the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. This, again, is ironic considering the well-documented report from Clamor magazine (2/05/03), which traces the Bush family’s fortune to Union Banking Corporation, which financed Adolph Hitler during the 1930s and 1940s.
Then-President Truman labeled Prescott Bush’s business dealings as “approaching treason.” The $1.5 million in profits was used to win Prescott Bush’s Senate seat in Connecticut in 1952. The remnants of these Nazi war profits are in the President’s blind trust gathering interest for him and his family.
No wonder Mr. Bush wants to put his (and his grandfather’s) past behind him.
A readerTucson AZ
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