Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday introduced a bill to establish a standard four-day workweek in the United States without any reduction in pay. The bill, over a four-year period, would lowe…
This is fine as long as you realize that the price of most things will rise. If an employer has to hire additional people to provide the service hours required the net effect is that cost is pasted onto you.
I don't think this will ever become law in the US in the near future. The biggest change for some workers came about because of the covid lunacy. So many were "forced" to work remotely and loved it. It was fun after they could no longer play the "we are all going die from covid" how employers wanted everyone to come back. This was total bullshit. If people were productive working remote why did they need to drag their ass back into an office
Given worker efficiency increases with decreased hours, the effective costs (measure in hours worked to afford something, not raw 2024 $s) should go down if the extra productivity doesn't just lead to more profits per employee hour worked.
If the 32 hour work week provides efficiency benefits then the market will trend to 32 hour work weeks and it's not going to impact the price to consumers. I can see heavy handed government action negatively impacting consumer prices and can see many be forced to work "Overtime" to make up the difference. Market pressures are incremental and competition forces companies to keep competitive margins. But if the whole market is just expected to eat additional labor costs by the government, I would expect the whole market would raise prices to keep the same margins rather than arbitrarily deciding to lower them.
We already see the market improving conditions without government action happening with remote work. There are some fortune 500 companies with enough corporate bureaucracy and money to burn that are resisting it. But the smaller start ups and SMBs that are thriving don't care where you are and how long you spend doing it as long as the work gets done.
Bernie is just an idiot. He means well. He’s just an idiot.
I don’t mind setting controls such as overtime laws but mandating 32 work weeks is silly. It will cause shortages in industries that are already short staffed. It’ll cause many employers to push people back in the office full time.
Let people negotiate what they want. I barely work but I know if they managed 32, they’d reduce staff and fill up my work week.
I have no issue with better worker rights. I’d rather focus on things like living wages and laws around vacation. Bernie just isn’t smart and focuses on the wrong thing.
All this would do is push people back to the office and companies would hand out more work.
I also wouldn’t mind sabbaticals written into law.
Or capping salaries of public companies to 25 the lowest employee or something. Making all benefits offered to executives, offered in equal to all employees. So if an executive gets 50% stock options, so does the employee.
Or capping salaries of public companies to 25 the lowest employee
THIS is the real answer. I pretty sure Japan does something like this. If the lowest full time guy is getting $25K per year why should the head guy be getting $25 fucking million or more. I understand that if you have more expertise and experience that you get paid more than those that don't but the gap is HUGE.
Private companies let the gap be there. Do what you want but public companies, let’s put some rules around them.
Since our retirement is tied to these companies. We are tried to their success and they benefit from the taxes we pay.