Amid the ongoing UAW strike, the union says it wants a four-day, 32-hour week while still getting 40 hours of pay.
Autoworkers now on strike against the Big Three car manufacturers want higher pay, better pension benefits and a shorter workweek.
"Our members are working 60, 70, even 80 hours a week just to make ends meet. That's not a living. That's barely surviving and it needs to stop," said Shawn Fain, the UAW president. The idea of a 40-hour workweek started in the auto industry back in the 1930s, but especially in the post-pandemic era a shorter week is again getting more attention from companies and employees around the globe.
In the UK,33 companies that tried out a 4-day workweek for six months give it high marks for productivity and performance. More than 96% of their employees wanted it to continue. "Every indicator about their physical and mental well-being showed evidence of improvement," said Wen Fan, a lead researcher and professor of sociology at Boston College.
But many companies oppose a four-day workweek. In California, a proposed bill mandating a 32-hour workweek was called a"job killer" by business groups who said it would drive up costs, discourage job growth and make them less competitive. A similar bill at the federal level has stalled in Congress.
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