DIVS over flash movies in Internet Explorer

The age old question... why the hell doesn't a div positioned over a flash object stay on top with z-index. I have found the answer in the past, but it's been so long, I can't seem to get it. My flash movie is in a div floating left:

My css for the div that needs to be on top is:

.menu ul li:hover ul li a:hover {
background:#5a3f2d;
color:#FFF;
z-index: 9999;

I cannot get it to show above the flash movie in ie6 or ie8. I know this is old school but I'm frustrated! Does my nav div need to have an absolute position? Is that why it doesn't work?

Example is here. Hover over the first link on the right: "CUSTOMER SERVICE"

Thanks all :)