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The thread title is misleading. He is not proposing a 4-day work week as in 40 hrs/4 days. Bernie wants a 32-hour work week with no reduction in pay or benefits. That is mighty generous of him.
Does Bernie understand that this will just add to our inflation problems? His idea will kill manufacturing in the U.S., construction costs will increase significantly, and service industry people already working under 32 hrs a week due to Obamacare rules will have their hours cut to conform to new rules.
Of course, this has nothing to do with his term expiring and needing to get re-elected in the fall. He is pulling a Biden trying to reel in dull people who think it is in the realm of possibility.
The góverment ruined the dollar with debt and inflation. I need to support their antics anymore. The less you contribute the better.
It’s no longer worth working to death for extra few dollars.
I just got off a 72 hr shift, paid to sleep 10 hrs each night. I watch Direct TV, go online, whatever.
I normally work 48 hrs a week in 3 days so not sure I want to support this bill. I get 3 hrs of overtime each week yet with this bill I would get 10 hrs each week. Might be enough overtime to hire an additional employee AND reduce my hrs down to 32 per week
My brother usta work offshore oil rigs... 28 days on 28 days off. Do you like gasoline? or Natural Gas? or plastics? Tell me how 32 hrs a week would cut it?
If you think this is a good idea you live in a bubble.
I'm all for private companies doing whatever they want. But this is beyond the purview of the federal government and I'm quite tired of Sanders and pols of his ilk trying to legislate our lives because they think they know better.
Have you ever considered that that 11% may be a floor? Just like there will always be people won't ever work, or stay at work, who won't use birth control and pop out kid after kid.
One of your "poor" people just walked by my house. He's in his 50s and I've known him for forty years. He's never had a job he stayed at for more than a month. Ever. But he does make sure he gets his morning 24 pack at 7AM and his evening 24 pack at 5 PM. He doesn't drink all of them on his own, he has a couple buddies, who I also know, who help him.
No amount of government programs, job training or economic growth are going to make him, or them, not poor.
Yes I have considered that. And I definitely agree. No matter how we define it, there will always be people who are poor. There will always be a group of people who are earning less than another group of people.
Which is why it is inaccurate to argue that the current economy has produced the lowest poverty rate in history. It has not.
************************
For all those commenting here about getting paid for 40 hours while working 32, and either expressing excitement and anticipation, or saying it's not workable and will be a failure.....
Notice that Bernie Sanders was NOT proposing that people would get paid for more than we work. He was simply proposing that the 'standard workweek' would be 32 hours, after which point employers would be required to pay overtime. To receive pay for 40 hours, you would have to work for 40 hours.
And note that this would still leave employers to implement new rules that reduce your flexibility. I know of an employer with a 4-day work week. They expect you to see the doctor and do parent-teacher conferences on your days off. They are very strict about this.
And there are manufacturing and plant facilities that work on four day schedules. You simply have four on/four off (with a separate team working those four days) so that your four days isn't the same days of the week. I.e., 1st week you work M-Th, 2nd week you work Fri-Mon, 3rd week you work Tu-Fri, 4th week Sa-Tu, 5th week you work Wed-Sa, 6th week Th-Su, and then the 7th week you are back to working M-Th again.
And there are manufacturing and plant facilities that work on four day schedules. You simply have four on/four off (with a separate team working those four days) so that your four days isn't the same days of the week. I.e., 1st week you work M-Th, 2nd week you work Fri-Mon, 3rd week you work Tu-Fri, 4th week Sa-Tu, 5th week you work Wed-Sa, 6th week Th-Su, and then the 7th week you are back to working M-Th again.
Are those facilities 24 hour operations? I ask because not only would the days change but so would the hours on four day week (assuming ten hour shifts).
Running three eight hour shifts in 24 makes scheduling easy, not so much with ten hour ones.
Who here doesn't want a four-day work week simply because they had to by God work 60-hour weeks and everyone else should have to do the same?
Who here doesn't want four-day work weeks simply because it's change and old people don't like change?
Can I have a show of hands, please.
Thank you. You're excused from the discussion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blisterpeanuts
The Jungle was written in an era when millions of eastern Europeans were flooding into the country, willing to work really hard for long hours and low pay; and most of them spoke very limited English. The management could get away with exploitative conditions.
When labor is in shortage, like it is now, management has to offer more incentives.
Though, we are in the midst of a new wave of immigration that will eventually alleviate the labor shortage, so possibly exploitative practices will make a comeback. I guess we’ll find out.
You think management doesn't exploit people now? Honestly, when people can work 40 hours a week and still not be able to afford to buy a home or pay rent or raise a family, then CEOs aren't running a business. They're running an exploitation factory.
Quote:
Originally Posted by North Beach Person
Yet the poverty rate has dropped for the last five or six decades (with small temporary increases) and the number of people moving out of the middle class into the upper middle class, or higher, has risen at the same time.
Is this why minimum wage is worth less than it was?
"....., the federal minimum wage is worth 30% less today than when it was last raised 14 years ago."
And: "When adjusted for inflation, the 2023 federal minimum wage in the United States is around 40 percent lower than the minimum wage in 1970. Although the real dollar minimum wage in 1970 was only 1.60 U.S. dollars, when expressed in nominal 2023 dollars this increases to 12.04 U.S. dollars. This is a significant difference from the federal minimum wage in 2023 of 7.25 U.S. dollars."
"How Many Americans Are Living Paycheck to Paycheck? A 2023 survey conducted by Payroll.org highlighted that 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, a 6% increase from the previous year. In other words, more than three-quarters of Americans struggle to save or invest after paying for their monthly expenses." Feb 15, 2024
Are those facilities 24 hour operations? I ask because not only would the days change but so would the hours on four day week (assuming ten hour shifts).
Running three eight hour shifts in 24 makes scheduling easy, not so much with ten hour ones.
No, they keep eight hour shifts. The way it works is this:
Week 1, team one works M-Th, team 2 works Fri-Mo
Week 2, team one works Tu-Fri, team 2 works Sa-Tu
Week 3, team one works Wed-Sa, team 2 works Su-We
Week 4, team one works Thurs-Sun, team 2 works M-Thu
Week 5, team one works Fri-Mo, Team 2 works Tu-Fri
Week 6, team one works Sa-Tu, team 2 works We-Sa
Week 7, Team one works Su-We, team 2 works Thu-Sun
Week 8, start the schedule all over again
Each team gets four days on, four days off and is paid for 32 hours.
Business has always adapted to big changes like this (minimum wage, the standard work week, health insurance). Recently Chicago passed legislation requiring that all shift workers receive their schedule at least a week in advance. Everyone in the hospitality industry screamed that this was impossible, but after trying it, most companies love it. No call/no show and turnover dropped significantly now that workers have sufficient time to arrange child care, transportation, and medical appointments. And it turns out that they actually can predict how much staffing they will need (and it doesn't stop them from asking for voluntary overtime if needed).
The same would be true for the shift schedule I outlined above. There could still be first, second, and third shifts if desired, but there would no longer be 'weekend' or 'weekday' shifts. There would no longer be 'part-time' or 'full-time'. These reduce costs because people wouldn't quit over undesirable shifts or undesirable benefits (or lack of).
I'd be happy just to get my current job down to 8 hours a day, 5 days a week! For the past 18 months, I've been working an steady 10 hours a day/5 days a week (with a few 12, 14, and even a few 16 hour days tossed in there). I did "cheat" a few days and just work my prescribed 8 hours. But that's the exception, not the rule. I am definitely burnt out. And I am salary, I don't get overtime.
I can't imagine how I would get my work done in 32 hours a week.
But my added hours are, as I've pointed out in other threads, the result of my workplace dying (making cuts to staff and such to save money). It's not going to be a problem much longer one way or the other (I leave for a new job or get laid off to save money like some of my old co-workers).
Just saw this and wanted to answer:
Quote:
Originally Posted by rodentraiser
Who here doesn't want a four-day work week simply because they had to by God work 60-hour weeks and everyone else should have to do the same?
Who here doesn't want four-day work weeks simply because it's change and old people don't like change?
Can I have a show of hands, please.
Thank you. You're excused from the discussion.
I think I maybe qualify as an old person (or at least an older worker). I would love a four day work week (and less pay, I am okay with losing 1/5th of what I make now for more time back. Time is a resource one can never get back or buy).
But the only way this can happen with my current 50 hour work week is if someone else is also hired to cover what I can't get done. I have no problem with that either, but I think my company can't afford it. They are barely getting by now due a shirking customer base.
But a situation where there are two people in my position and I have less hours would be a dream come true. But I fear it's just a dream.
Last edited by AccidentalVulcan; 03-18-2024 at 06:25 PM..
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