That’s not really true though. The majority of workers in the US are non-exempt full-time employees, which means employers are required to pay overtime for anything over 40 hours. Lowering that threshold will mean those 8 extra hours are more valuable and will hold wages steady.
Comment on Bernie Sanders Champions 32-Hour Work Week With No Loss in Pay
vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 9 months ago
32hr week is fine, but what does he mean by no loss in pay?
The mandated work week is something a central regulator controls, and the pay is not.
The drop in productivity because of working 32hrs instead of 40hrs will be much less than 20%, that’s for sure. Maybe there’ll be no drop at all. That doesn’t always translate to no drop in pay.
If by 32hrs we mean 4 days, then it frees that day for other workers (if we imagine any job with a physical workplace). The pay is a result of the balance of interests. It will become less.
And personally I’d say 35hr week is a better idea - as in 5 days of 7hrs .
archomrade@midwest.social 9 months ago
Kirkkh@lemm.ee 9 months ago
Corporations will just cut everyone’s hours to 32 and replace the loss with automation. Ask any min-wage worker if they’re ever allowed to clock over 40. Crap most can’t even get 32 because then they’d have to give them health insurance.
archomrade@midwest.social 9 months ago
They do that anyway, but the whole wage market shifts upward because of the non-exempt regulations. The whole reason we even had a middle class to loose was the labor laws established from union strikes and labor reform in the early 20th century. The only reason you have a weekend is because of those laws. Regulation like this is the first step toward improving labor down the board.
ofc we should also raise min wage and/or establish universal benefits to head off automation and other productivity improvements, but those are bigger reforms.
vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 9 months ago
I didn’t consider overtime. Just what the title says - 32hr week with the same pay as 40hr week with all other things unchanged.
With this interpretation - yeah, but then Bernie’s mention of “no loss in pay” doesn’t make sense, it happens automatically.
Fraylor@lemm.ee 9 months ago
Lmao garbage take. Please never be put in charge of anything important.
SamboT@lemm.ee 9 months ago
Nice contribution to the thread.
Fraylor@lemm.ee 9 months ago
Same to you?
vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 9 months ago
I’ve been responsible for some relatively important things from time to time, and that’s just as likely to happen in future.
While your reply is not very convincing and recursively makes me think I’d not entrust to you anything I really want done in a satisfactory way at least.
Fraylor@lemm.ee 9 months ago
Well of course you wouldn’t want me making decisions, as they wouldn’t have the same garbage thought processes yours would.
vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 9 months ago
I don’t think my thought processes are garbage. They at least have evolved past the mistakes most people here do.
Anyway, you haven’t provided any argumentation, just came here and started throwing feces. I don’t argue with monkeys, at least not after I fully realize I’m talking to one.
unfreeradical@lemmy.world 9 months ago
We make gains by organization not legislation.
Read the excerpts of the speech quoted in the article. All is plainly said.
nucleative@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I was with you until:
I think the idea is to free up an entire extra day, allowing travel, an extra day to run errands, etc. For many, there is basically no difference between working 8 hours or working 7 if they still have to commute, get dressed and get their brain wrapped around whatever is going on in work mode.
vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org 9 months ago
Yes, with 4 days, 8 hours the idea is what you described.
With 5 days, 7 hours the idea is that you don’t work effectively anyway in the last 1-2 hours, not doing many useful things, adding to depression and also obviously still using that time, so it’s better to get some rest or social activity or take a walk instead.
nucleative@lemmy.world 9 months ago
True… realistically knowledge workers are only productive for a few hours at a time. The rest of an 8 hr+ day is just wasted pretending to be busy.
Getting them out of the work environment gives a good chance to reboot and come back fresh.