Bernie Sanders Champions 32-Hour Work Week With No Loss in Pay ( www.commondreams.org )

As part of his Labor Day message to workers in the United States, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday re-upped his call for the establishment of a 20% cut to the workweek with no loss in pay—an idea he said is “not radical” given the enormous productivity gains over recent decades that have resulted in massive profits for corporations but scraps for employees and the working class.

“It’s time for a 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay,” Sanders wrote in a Guardian op-ed as he cited a 480% increase in worker productivity since the 40-hour workweek was first established in 1940.

“It’s time,” he continued, “that working families were able to take advantage of the increased productivity that new technologies provide so that they can enjoy more leisure time, family time, educational and cultural opportunities—and less stress.”

EyeYamDatEyeYam ,

Yeah. We all want something for nothing. Fortunately, there are still enough adults in the U.S. who recognize that just doesn’t work in the real world.

gibmiser ,

Shut the fuck up. We can make the world a better place if we want to. We are just going to have to drag you and the rest of the simps for the rich kicking and screaming. And you will benefit from our efforts. And just because you will freeload off of us improving the world doesn’t stop me from wanting to do it.

We have enough food and goods to go around if we would just start voting for people who actually believe we can do it. We were so close with Bernie…

triclops6 ,

Lick that boot bud

Neflubaguzzi ,

Suck off your CEO while you’re at it!

jasondj ,

For the sake of comparison…

1940 median US male salary was $956. Women earned about 62¢ on the dollar to men.

Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $21,800.

Median US income (overall) in 2023 is $42,800.

You mean to tell me productivity has gone up 4.8x, and I don’t even see 2x the increase in salary.

Put otherwise, if my hours are worth nearly 5x to you, why aren’t they even worth 2x to me?

snausagesinablanket ,
@snausagesinablanket@lemmy.world avatar

I think he is taking too big of a chunk off. If this were to be phased in with 4-day work weeks at 10 hours a day with 2 breaks could be a starting point. Companies get the same amount of production hours and save 20% on building costs, energy, etc.

dx1 ,

Man saying two sentences about something is a pretty low bar to “champion” it.

Piye ,

This only works if your pay doesn’t get reduced, which it always does. Obama cut full-time and suddenly everyone had to get two jobs to pay rent

Blackmist ,

But what about the poor billionaires?

“I’ve got one hobby space program yes, but what about second hobby space program?”

average_internet_enjoyer ,

“What about my yachts? I need to see them slaving their lives away for my holiday!!!”

WheeGeetheCat ,
@WheeGeetheCat@sh.itjust.works avatar

He’s right

Whimsical ,

I’m hoping the push for a 32 hour week gains enough traction that we could actually feasibly negotiate a 9-day sprint (2 week period) as the “middle ground”, at least until the next wave of negotiations pushes further.

Gimme every other monday off, that way I’m always working toward either a long weekend or an early weekend

SCB ,

While I like this idea, this is not the argument union leadership should be making to achieve this goal:

Our union’s membership is clearly fed up with living paycheck-to-paycheck while the corporate elite and billionaire class continue to make out like bandits," said Fain in a statement last week. "The Big Three have been breaking the bank while we have been breaking our backs

A change in hours does nothing to address pay discrepancies and you need to pick one lane and fight for it and get it, then attack the other direction.

Nemo ,

Would this include a 25% increase to hourly minimums? Because otherwise it only benefits salaried employees.

And what about workers who are paid by productivity and not time? Salespersons on commission, servers receiving tips, ride-share drivers?

I’m all for a 32-hour work-week; that’s what I have myself. But let’s not pretend this would be enough, or that the main beneficiaries are he working class.

subignition ,
@subignition@kbin.social avatar

"No loss in pay" as far as I can interpret it would mean getting paid the same for working 32 hours as you would have for working 40, yes

The autoworkers union the article refers to as an example is seeking a 46% pay rise to coincide with the transition to 32 hours.

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