• Nobody@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Bernie: Here’s a bill that will help literally everyone. People waste less of their lives at work, and productivity goes up massively for the corporate overlords. There is no downside here for anyone.

    Everyone: Shut up, hippy.

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Unfortunately that’s a fairly naive take that fails to consider how most people work in the US- hourly employees would be fucked by this.

      Retail, service, anyone whose not already working 9-5 office jobs; the reality is that they won’t loose pay, but they will loose hours. And you can bet your ass that companies won’t pay more to make up for it.

      • PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de
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        6 months ago

        they lose hours but the hourly pay goes up, just like everybody else, no? I haven’t read the bill but I would be surprised if that’s not in there.

        • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          First off, it needs to be noted that the only mechanism to do that on so large a scale is to increase the minimum wage.

          Which is how they did it in ‘38 when the work week went to 44, and in ‘40 when it when to what it is today.

          The problem is that company are absolutely going to pass that off to customers (aka, the workers… ultimately.) and so really all you’ve done, effectively, is put far more people onto minimum wage.

          Anyone who was above that mimimim? Gets the shaft.

          And people who now are on minimum? Working two jobs to pay for everything (like most people in the bottom quarter are already doing anyhow,) so they don’t really see reduced hours anyway.

          It’s well meaning and it’d be nice, but it needs to be done differently. Unions are strong now. Stronger than they have been since I’ve been working. Join a union. Make the change yourself; eventually it’ll get normalized without the above problems. (Also, better wages, healthcare, workplace safety and everything else Unions get you.)(don’t tell my boss’s boss that. He’s still buthurt from negotiating a new contract.)

          • hardaysknight@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            The problem is that company are absolutely going to pass that off to customers (aka, the workers… ultimately.)

            News flash, they’re going to be raising prices regardless.

            • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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              6 months ago

              And they won’t tack that on, too, anyhow?

              Chances are they’ll pass on the costs, increase the price, anyhow, shrink products, and raise prices even more, and then blame the last three on the first.

              Exactly like they’ve been doing.

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Everyone: Shut up, hippy.

      They’ve been telling him that since he was being arrested for protesting for civil rights and Joe Biden was fighting against school busing…

      Their stupid bullshit hasn’t stopped him yet

  • Brkdncr@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I don’t see a path forward that doesn’t start with the US government making the change first. They are one of the only employers that don’t have market competition.

    • TheDuffmaster@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Some departments in the US government give you a paid time off day every week to use however you want. A lot of people would take every Friday off, or some would stash them for a longer vacation.

      It’s wild to me how internally the government offers the kind of benefits politicians should’ve pushed into law a long time ago. It really is “for Me, not for Thee”.

      Source: worked in one of those departments

  • neomachino@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I’ve noticed that I get the same amount of work done working 5 days a week as if I plan to only work 3/4 days and know I’ll have some free time to enjoy life. My work is really project based so as long as it gets done no one cares.

    My wife has also noticed that I’m a lot more stressed when I work 5 days a week and need pretty much the whole weekend to recover.

    • lennybird@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      It’s LONG overdue. Been saying this for years. Reducing the stress, increasing free time (and therefore things like family time, innovation time, etc.) would vastly overhaul our society. Productivity has risen for decades while wages remain stagnant and work-life balance, if anything, has worsened.

  • rottingleaf@lemmy.zip
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    6 months ago

    Can someone explain that “with no loss in pay”?

    It’s not like there is a magical way to know what you’d get paid if you worked a 40hr week, when everybody works 32hr week, and punish your employer if it’s less.

    It’s not like wages are determined by the government either.

    • lennybird@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      From the bill itself:

      (iii) by adding at the end the following:

      “(3) With respect to any employee described in paragraph (2) who in any workweek is brought within the purview of this subsection by the amendments made to this Act by the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act, the employer of such employee may not reduce the total workweek compensation rate, including the regular rate at which the employee is employed, or any other employee benefit due to the employee being brought within the purview of this subsection by such amendments.

      And yes, wages can definitely be determined by the government; see the Federal minimum-wage limit. Salary would remain the same; your hourly-wage would be increased by 1.25x.

  • manuallybreathing@lemmy.ml
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    6 months ago

    when workers won the 40 hour week, the 8 hour day, there were basically no restrictions on the time workers could be required to work.

    a 32 hour week is a 6 hour day.

    This is weak.

  • Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    We need this so fucking bad. As a species, not just America or the wealthy nations only. Everyone.

    And this should just be a transitionary period down to a 24 or less hour work week. Fuck slaving away at shit jobs just to make billionaires.

    • bartolomeo@suppo.fi
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      6 months ago

      Yea, slaving away should be purely optional. If you love your job or you love money or you want to keep yourself distracted AND make money at the same time, by all means, knock yourself out and work 60 hour weeks.

      It’s a failure of the system if people have to work full time to scrape by with the very bare necessities and live in poverty, with all the nasties that come with it. America coined the term “working poor” (obligatory meme so we’re on the same page)

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Full Employment and Zero Protests go hand-in-hand.

        As soon as unemployment figures start climbing (2008, 2014, 2016, COVID-2020) people hit the streets and cops start working a lot of extra overtime.

        Imagine if people had a whole third weekend day to themselves. Imagine what they could spend their time doing that wasn’t entirely predicated on enriching their bosses?

  • _number8_@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    i don’t even like looking at or thinking about this stuff, it’s too depressing getting my hopes up