As part of his Labor Day message to workers in the United States, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday re-upped his call for the establishment of a 20% cut to the workweek with no loss in pay—an idea he said is “not radical” given the enormous productivity gains over recent decades that have resulted in massive profits for corporations but scraps for employees and the working class.

“It’s time for a 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay,” Sanders wrote in a Guardian op-ed as he cited a 480% increase in worker productivity since the 40-hour workweek was first established in 1940.

“It’s time,” he continued, “that working families were able to take advantage of the increased productivity that new technologies provide so that they can enjoy more leisure time, family time, educational and cultural opportunities—and less stress.”

  • SokathHisEyesOpen
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    1110 months ago

    And personally I’d say 35hr week is a better idea - as in 5 days of 7hrs .

    No thanks! I’ll stick with The Bern on this one.

    • @vacuumflower
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      -210 months ago

      Depends on the purpose. If you want for the shorter week to be normalized - then surely yes.

      And if you want that “no loss in pay” - then my idea is better to that end.

      • SokathHisEyesOpen
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        310 months ago

        Bernie is advocating for a 4 day work week with no loss in pay, and you’re arguing against your own best interest before anyone has even objected. Why? I’m not interested in a 7 hour day. 7 hours, 8 hours, it makes very little difference. But 4 days vs 5 days is a major quality of life improvement.

        • @vacuumflower
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          110 months ago

          Bernie is advocating for a 4 day work week with no loss in pay

          Yeah, sure, and I’m advocating for long power lines with no loss in power. Bernie doesn’t explain how’s he (even algorithmically) going to evaluate which pay is “no loss in pay” and how is he going to enforce it.