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.
this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2024
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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
Bernie is still the only politician I have donated to but to be fair to Biden, bussing was met with violent protests and even black activists criticized it for weakening black communities. There were good reasons to be against that method without being against desegregation.
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.
If it's mandated by law they will. As they do in other countries.
Yup. These "free market" folks conveniently forget that competition is bolstered when there's a floor. An impartial referee to call balls, strikes, and fouls. A set of rules everyone has to play by, or they don't get to play at all.
Also known as regulation.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
Point is, they’re going to anyway. So why even take that into consideration?
You’re the one bringing it into consideration…
So… why are you bringing it up?
Bernie is an example of what a progressive politician actually looks like.
American politicians (Republicans AND Democrats) have been moving steadily to the right for the last 40 years. So now, Democrats are where the Republicans were in the 1980s, boring corporatists and friends of banks, pharmaceutical and insurance companies.
And the Republicans have moved all the way into an insane asylum. They long for the "good old days" of company towns, run by 19th century robber barons and worry that the six corporations that control all our news are the "liberal news media."
Sometimes I imagine what America would be like if Bernie had enough votes to pass his bills.
I always vote for him when he's at the polls, since 2 decades ago. But the oligarchy of this nation will never allow him in position of power to implement these changes.
The reality of America is that our owners have no interest in making life better for the us, the common man, their only interest to bleed us as much as they can for their own selfish agenda. And the American people are collectively still too stupid to understand how it all works.
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.
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)
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?
We need this so fucking bad.
Of course we do, so do the corporations, though they don't realize it. With happier workers you get more profits.
Call your House of Representative member and let them know that.
If we citizens don't apply the pressure, nothing will happen.
And if your cynical about doing that, try it anyway, just as an experiment, to see what happens. Hell, even make a YouTube video about your experience doing so, for content.
Just say "Please let my representative know that I am in favor of the Bernie Sanders bill (Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act) for a 32 hour work week."
It's just a phone call. A 32 hour work week is worth a single phone call, right?
Don't get me wrong, I love me some Futurama, but you're going to have to elaborate on this reply, and how it relates to my comment about contacting your house representative.
"I don't miss twice Campers."
I loved that line.
I was jokingly suggesting that unhappy workers are actually more productive but in reality I'm 100% with you.
Looking at the productivity gains, vs income gains since 1970, I would say that we need an 8 hour work week. We are producing well over 7 times as much stuff and economic value as we were in 1970
vs income gains since 1970
I hope you do correct for inflation.
While a small tangent, I agree. I used to work 4x10 each week. Had done that for over a decade. Having a 3 day weekend really helped. When I got my current position I was moved to 5x8. I'm now endlessly tired, I can't get the weekend projects done, etc. Because you're just getting out of work, or getting ready to start work again, there's no break. So if this ends up being 4x8, that would be great! Keep my hours and get my weekend back. Though I assume corporate USA will find some way to muck it up, like the RTO bullshit.
He also spoke earlier about Israel breaking the US law by disrupting Us Humanitarian Aid.
So that's two things the rest of the party will ignore him on?
Tbf they ignore him on everything and that's why I do too. He's been in politics forever and can't get anything done ever. Sure it's the fault of the party for ignoring his good ideas, but it's also his for being so bad at politics that he can't even get the backing of his own party. How was he ever going to beat Trump if not even the Democrats like him? He says nice things but he's ineffectual
Bernie Sanders is an Independent, he runs in the Democratic primaries for the Democratic Presidential nomination but he sits in Congress as an Independent.
Even less effective
Nobody would be good enough.
I mean they have to be good enough to win right? And Bernie can't, he's proven he can't win. So what's the point of him but words?
In any case Bernie is old as shit, that's why I don't want him. I honestly laugh at the hypocrisy of his supporters calling out the age of Biden, Trump, Pelosi and McConnell, while asking for Bernie.
You misunderstand. Nobody would be good enough for YOU. You will find something else to be angry over and will project it there.
This sounds awesome. Here's what I wanna know though:
What stops your boss from then saying "You better stop at 31.95 hours or you're in trouble." Because they don't wanna pay overtime? They already do this in a lot of jobs.
So, you'd need additional pay to compensate for less hours, but now you have a two-pronged battle because that just sounds way too lovely.
And I'm guessing a lot of the "exempt" office workers that grind themselves into dust the hardest won't be affected?
I mean hey, I'd rather it just passes and we see what happens, and keep fixing it as it goes, at least it's something! But the hardest part is blocking your bosses from weaseling around laws and screwing you anyway.
having your boss say “stop” at 32 hours is the intent of the bill.
Correct. But that's the issue right now. People look at the equation all wrong and say "I just wish I could get more hours!" instead of fighting for reasonable pay. If hours go down but pay doesn't go up to compensate, a ton of people will actually get hit really hard by this and their lives will get worse instead of better.
Companies can use that tired, stupid line that "Washington says you don't have the eagle-screeching-freedom-right to WORK! How dare they!" and people will buy it.
We don't want that, because it'll turn workers against worker-friendly politics, and that would be a Very Bad Thing, given the level of job-simp-indoctrination we're already combating! :O
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.
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.
Tell me you've never worked a day in your life without telling me.
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.
(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.
i don't even like looking at or thinking about this stuff, it's too depressing getting my hopes up