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Bernie Sanders: It’s time for a 4-day work week | CNN Opinion - Feddit UK
feddit.uk> The wealthiest people in this country have never had it so good. While income
and wealth inequality in the United States is soaring, more than 60% of
Americans live paycheck to paycheck, we have one of the highest rates of
childhood poverty among major countries on Earth, and more than 650,000 people
are homeless. > > According to a study by the Rand Corporation, since 1975,
there has been a nearly $50 trillion transfer of wealth in America from the
bottom 90% to those at the top. Meanwhile, since 1973, weekly wages for the
average American worker have actually gone down after adjusting for inflation. >
> It’s time for a change — real change. As more Americans are giving up on
government and democracy, the time is long overdue for Congress to stand up for
the hard-pressed working families of our country. And an important step in that
direction would be implementing a 32-hour work week with no loss in pay. > > As
far back as 1866, one of the central planks of the trade union movement in
America was to establish an eight-hour workday with a simple and straightforward
demand: “Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest and eight hours for what you
will.” > > Americans of that era were sick and tired of working 12-hour days for
six or seven days a week with very little time for rest, relaxation or quality
time with their families. They went out on strike, they organized, they
petitioned the government and business leaders, and they achieved real results
after decades of struggle. > > Finally, in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed
legislation into law to establish an eight-hour workday for railroad workers.
Ten years later, the Ford Motor Company became one of the first major employers
in America to establish a five-day work week for autoworkers. > > By 1933, the
US Senate had overwhelmingly passed legislation to establish a 30-hour work
week. And, just a few years later, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed
the Fair Labor Standards Act into law and the standard 40-hour work week was
created. That is the good news. > > The bad news is that despite massive growth
in technology and skyrocketing worker productivity, millions of Americans are
working longer hours for lower wages. In fact, nearly 40% of employees in the
United States are working at least 50 hours a week, and 18% are working at least
60 hours. > > What this means is that the American people now have the dubious
distinction of working far more hours per year as the people of most other
wealthy nations. > > On average, Americans work 470 more hours on the job per
year than people in Germany, 300 hours more than people in France, 279 hours
more than people in the United Kingdom, 204 hours more than people in Japan, and
125 hours more than people in Canada. > > As a result of the extraordinary
technological revolution that has taken place in recent years and decades,
American workers are more than 400% more productive than they were in the 1940s.
And yet, almost all of the economic gains from these technological achievements
have been going straight to the top. > > For example, in 1965, the CEO of a
large corporation in America made about 20 times more than their average worker.
Today, CEOs of large corporations make nearly 350 times more than their average
workers. > > At a moment in history when artificial intelligence and robotics
will radically transform our economy, it is time to make sure that working
people benefit from this increased productivity, not just corporate CEOs and the
billionaire class. > > It’s time to reduce the stress level in our country and
allow Americans to enjoy a better quality of life. It’s time for a 32-hour work
week with no loss in pay. > > This is not a radical idea. > > In fact, movement
in that direction is already taking place in other developed countries. > >
France, the seventh-largest economy in the world, has a 35-hour work week and is
considering reducing it to 32. As a result of strong unions, the standard
workweek for most employees in Denmark is about 37 hours, and Belgium has
already adopted a four-day work week. > > In 2023, the trade union movement in
Germany won a 32-hour work week for metalworkers, while autoworkers at
Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz have 35-hour work weeks. In December, Lamborghini
announced that it would be moving to a four-day work week after union workers
established a guiding principle: “Work less and work better.” > > Pilot programs
in the UK and South Africa have found that worker productivity and business
revenue both go up with a four-day work week. In other words, a 32-hour work
week with no loss in pay is good for workers and good for business. > > In the
US and Canada, more than two-thirds of workers showed less job burnout; anxiety
and fatigue declined for roughly 40%; and 60% reported more success achieving a
work-family balance. Almost every participant wanted to continue the program,
company turnover fell by more than 20% and absenteeism by 39%. And when
Microsoft tested a four-day work week in Japan, it reported a 40% increase in
productivity. > > Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, and Jamie Dimon, the CEO
of JPMorgan Chase, both said last year that the advancements in technology would
lead to a three- or three-and-a-half-day work week in the coming years. > > As
much as technology and worker productivity has exploded in recent years, there
is no debate that new breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and robotics will
only accelerate the transformation of our economy. Major industries like auto
manufacturers are undergoing once-in-a-generation transformations, and our jobs
are changing with them. > > The question is: Who will benefit from this
transformation? Will it be the billionaire class, or workers? > > In my view,
the choice is obvious. > > Eighty-six years after Roosevelt signed a 40-hour
work week into law, it’s time for us to move to a 32-hour work week at no loss
of pay.
I made this community as a reaction to the July 4th general election taking place in the United Kingdoms, to mobilize my fellow comrades in the lead-up to the general elections, the group is party agnostic though there is an obvious bias due in part to my political affiliation but all leftest parties that fight for dignity and the working class are very much welcome.
By all means feel free to join where ever you may come from whether for information or solidarity.
In solidarity.
Squid.
hey idk you but here’s some random advice: go outside, enjoy nature, explore, have fun. we don’t have much time here!
are you talking about climate change? or a jab at my enthusiastic post, or is this just a genuine message of sincerity? either way i spend most days out either campaigning or hiking, working.
just went to the first post i saw amd wrote this lol