Bernie Sanders Wants To Bring Back Your 40-Hour Workweek

[Demeter]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-40-hour-workweek_562b8942e4b0aac0b8fd182a?utm_hp_ref=business&ir=Business&section=business

This story was published in June 2015 and is being republished today on the 75th anniversary of the 40-hour workweek going into effect.

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) thinks Americans may have forgotten about the 40-hour week.

"A hundred years ago workers took to the streets" to fight for 40 hours, Sanders told The Huffington Post. "And a hundred years have come and gone, we’ve seen an explosion in technology, we’ve seen an explosion in productivity, we have a great global economy, and what do you have? The vast majority of people are working longer hours for lower wages."

American workers with full-time jobs work an average of 42.7 hours per week, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Including part-timers in the calculation puts the average American workweek at 39 hours.


Sanders said he wants to appropriate the term "family values" from Republicans, who have historically used it to talk about social issues, and use it to promote legislation mandating paid vacation, paid sick days and paid parental leave for U.S. workers. Just 11 percent of workers had access to paid leave to care for newborns in 2012, according to the BLS.

"What the Republicans talk about when they speak of family values is to deny a woman the right to control her own body, to deny a woman the right to get contraceptives, opposition to gay rights and gay marriage," Sanders said. "I don’t think those are family values."

Last week Sanders introduced a bill that would require employers to give at least 10 paid vacation days annually to any employees who have worked at the company for at least a year.

"What our legislation says -- and we think this is absolutely a family value -- is that a mom and a dad should have the right to at least a couple of weeks off of paid vacation so they can spend quality time with their kids," Sanders said.

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[Phlem]

1. I wish we could implement that in the Tech field.

Too much white collar slavery.

[woodsprite]

2. I was thinking that.

We officially have 37.5 hr week, but are expected to work until the job of the moment is done or the crisis is over. In our IT dept, most people regularly put in 40 to 50 hrs/wk. Since we're professional staff, overtime isn't paid. Even compensatory time off is rare unless someone worked a weekend because the 40-50 hrs is pretty normal.

At least it's not MBNA or BOA up the road. I hear from friend that they are expected to work 65hrs+ a week.

[Phlem]

3. Yep. I'm sure you've heard about game industry environments.

About a half year into a new project I had already accumulated 3/4 of a year of project time into it. It just got worse from there and when the project's over..... Let's do it again!

Of course we had our dinners paid for us but wholly shit I've got a wife and kid I never see. I never got enough physical rest ever, Until I quit for my own health. Good thing Taco Time is paying $13.00 and hour now.

[Cleita]

4. In my first job, even though it was salaried, any day we worked over eight hours we

got paid overtime, and any week we worked a sixth day we got overtime. It was the law. What happened?

[Phlem]

5. the 1 % and Corporations have bought politicians.

It's always about the bottom line in my life's experience.

Microsoft just laid of a 1000 employees so their stockholders financials exceeded expectations. 1000 people out of a living wage jobs with no life ( because salaried employment = exploitation = no life) gone.

A CEO who performs best quarterly = Bonuses, loves, ass kisses, bonuses X 10 for laying people off.

I'm in a "right to work" state. One can be fired for whatever.

That sounds about right.

[MattSh]

6. Good start, but he needs to go further...

Face it, because of automation of both physical and mental tasks, there will never be enough work for everyone who wants to work to work 40 hours. That's gone and over. We really need to start thinking about 35 hour weeks for a start, and progressing down to 30 hours over the next 10 years.

Oh, and 20 paid vacation days, while we're at it. Most of Europe has it, if they can do it, certainly the USA can too.