WASHINGTON, D.C. (FOX News) – A proposal from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders would get you an extra day off from work each week.
FOX News reports a Senate committee on Thursday held a hearing on a proposal from Sanders to reduce the standard work week to 32 hours, from the current 40, while maintaining the same level of wages.
Sanders says the idea is not radical, and would lead to a better quality of life for workers in the country.
“Many of our people are exhausted, we work the longest hours of any people in the industrialized world, I think it’s time for a shortened work week,” Sanders said.
One of those who testified at the hearing was UAW President Shawn Fain, who says working class people are “fed up.”
“They’re fed up with being left behind, and stripped of dignity, as wealth and equality in this nation and this world spirals out of control,” Fain said.
HR Policy Association Senior Labor Attorney Roger King says workers just want flexibility, and warned about the effects of a shift to a 32 hour work week.
“We already have a tremendous shortage of workers. Industry after industry doesn’t have enough workers today. This proposal, for many employers, would cause even further worker shortages,” King said.
Opponents of the bill argue that not every company can afford to reduce work hours and maintain the same level of wages.
Comments