We have heard of several legislations being passed but this particular legislation might be one of the best in the history of the United States Labour Industry.
To modify the standard workweek of 40 hours per week, Senator Bernie Sanders together with Senator Laphonzo Butler, D-Calif, and Rep. Mark Takano has made a very positive and bold move to amend this legislation as they introduce a workweek of 32 hours.
The 1938 Standard WorkWeek Rule
In 1938, when companies realized that excess work hours reduced productivity and that to boost business revenue, they might need to reduce employees’ work hours, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act which established the standard workweek at 44 hours per week.
The Congress also included that, employers are to take notice that they are obliged to pay overtime to employees who work above the 44-hour rule.
The 1940 Standard WorkWeek Rule
After a little back and forth on the newly passed law. Most employers began to realize that working more hours was resulting in less productivity and that something needed to be done.
This caused Congress to amend the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act and reduce the work week hours from 44 hours to 40 hours. And of course, employers still had to pay compensation if any of their employees exceeded the standard hour.
A More Recent Proposal To Amend The Fair Labor Standards Act
Just like, the United States Government has realized that something needs to be done about the work hours to guarantee its citizens a better quality of life. Senator Sanders has now introduced new legislation to amend the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act.
The proposed Bill titled the ‘Thirty-Two-Hour Work Week Act, hopes to reduce the standard work week from 40 hours to 32 hours over four years.
Fewer Hours Same Pay
Senator Sanders also added that, for several decades now, American citizens have been working more hours and have been paid less for services rendered. With this new legislation, he is determined to change how things work.
The Senator has included that the content of this bill will be beneficial to the employees as they would get a reduction in work hours but their pay will remain the same. An idea that might be beneficial for employees.
The Corporate Leaders Have Reaped The Profits For Decades
During the hearing on the proposed law that took place on Thursday before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Senator Sanders shed more light on his proposal.
Senator Sanders made mention of an important point that most corporate leaders might never acknowledge. He said that the profits from the boosts in productivity over the past decades have only been enjoyed by the corporate leaders leaving nothing for the employees.
The Sad Reality Of Americans
Senator Sanders touched on various salient issues while preaching his idea to the committee. He added that the saddest reality of being an American citizen is that Americans now work extremely long hours than their wealthy national counterparts.
A sad reality if we must say, Senator Sander added that most workers in the United States, on an average basis work hundreds of hours more than those in Japan, Britain, and even Germany.
Benefits From The Major Advancement Of Artificial Intelligence
Looking back at how the world has evolved. The United States is one of the most prominent countries when it comes to Artificial Intelligence. It is time to make sure that Artificial Intelligence, automation, and all the newest technologies benefit the working class.
Sanders wants to reduce the stress in the country and will do everything possible to make sure that Americans have a better quality of life.
Sanders Has Asked That Other Promoters Testify To This Proposal
Sandal is totally in favor of the amendment and he’ll do anything to convince the other members of the committee to allow this amendment.
Sanders has asked United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, John Leland, the Chief strategy officer of Kickstarter who is also the founder of the Four Day Work Week campaign, and Boston College sociology professor Juliet Schor to help testify in favor of the hearing on the proposal.
The Bill Gets A Big Boost
When a bill like this is being reviewed, it’s only right that public opinion should be sought. In respect of this, a public survey was conducted and the results have shown exactly what Americans think about this proposal.
The Data for Progress has released the survey results and these results show that the reduction measures are quite popular among the majority of Americans.
The 57% And 69% In Support Of Sander’s Proposal
After the result was collated, it appears that out of the 1,196 respondents, 57% of them are for the 32-hours-per-week rule. They believe that it will truly help reduce the stress levels of American citizens and improve their quality of life.
Surprisingly, there was an even more positive response among the respondents who identified as Democrats with 69% of them supporting the motion. Also, approximately, 58% of independent and third-party voters together with 44% of Republicans were all in support of the change.
Senator Bill Cassidy Has A Different Opinion
Matters like this will always go both ways, there are supporters and also those who will tilt more to the other side. Senator Bill Cassidy is one on the other side. She believes that this innovation will hurt employers, and might even cause a spike in consumer prices.
She added that this amendment will cause a big blow to millions of small businesses that are still trying to figure things out. Imagine not being able to find sufficient workers.
Survey Results Against The Proposal
While some people voted in support of the proposal some voted against it. The proposal garnered approximately 34% from the general voters and 24% from the Democrats.
It also got 31% from the independent and third-party voters while it got 49% from the Republicans. And a total of 34% overall voters who weren’t in support and neither were they against.
Companies Will Have To Do Better!
The survey also showed that a four-day workweek might be a bad idea for employers, this is because it might result in lesser work productivity and lesser business revenue.
But guess what, this is going to put extra burdens on the companies, while it forces them to either hire additional workers or opt to pay compensation for extra time.
