[PEN-L:29] worktime

[Doug Henwood <dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx>]

Music to Tom Walker's ears, from Sam Smith's Progressive Review
<http://emporium.turnpike.net/P/ProRev>:

>UNDERCOVERED NEWS
>
>In Europe it's a story, but here -- despite stoppages at US West, Northwest
>Airlines, Bell Atlantic, and General Motors -- the issue of excessive work
>hours is ignored or downplayed. Christian Science Monitor, however, reports
>that US workers average about three more weeks of work per year than they
>did just ten years ago. Between 1970 and 1990 the average working hours of
>an American employee actually went up the equivalent of a whole month on the
>job. CSM quotes a labor professor: "A lot of the recent labor strife has
>been about people being pushed too far." At first it worked, especially
>because of threats that workers who declined the extra hours would be
>"down-sized," but over time the long work-week became too stressful.
>
>USNWR says a 1997 poll finds that 60% of the public -- 62% of managers --
>think shorter work hours would give employees an incentive to be more
>productive. 65% of Americans support a movement for shorter work hours.
>
>One solution: cut work hours but keep pay the same. One plan that seems to
>be  working has employees working 30 hours a week for 40 hours pay.
>Productivity has increased and workers like it better than a larger paycheck
>with longer hours.
>
>SHORTER WORK-TIME DIGEST
>Swt-digest@xxxxxxx
>SHORTER WORK-TIME GROUP
>617-628-5588
>30/40 PLAN
>Ron Healey, The 30/40 Company
>317-852-6800