Republicans pan Sanders’s 32-hour workweek bill

Republican lawmakers criticized Sen. Bernie Sanders (R-Vt.)’s new proposal for a 32-hour work week at a committee hearing Thursday, saying such a mandate would harm workers and hurt small businesses. They objected to the move, saying it would destroy the company.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, chaired by Sanders, will meet to discuss “new technologies and productivity gains,” with a focus on the possibility of a standard four-day workweek. Ta.

“The reality is there is no such thing as a free lunch,” Ranking Member Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) said of the proposal.

“Workers will be paying extra wages, not receiving them. If the government mandates a 32-hour work week and requires companies to add at least 25 percent to hourly wages, frankly some jobs will be lost. The Lord will be destroyed.”

On Wednesday, Sanders introduced a bill that would lower the threshold for overtime pay from 40 hours to 32 hours over four years, arguing that shorter work weeks would improve productivity.

Cassidy said many jobs will be moved overseas or replaced by automation, or companies will be encouraged to hire more part-time workers to avoid the penalties associated with full-time worker requirements. Stated.

“If implemented, this policy would threaten millions of small businesses that cannot find enough workers and operate on meager profits,” Cassidy said. “Right now they’re hiring the same workers, but they’re only working three-quarters of the time, so they need to hire more.”

Sanders argued that Americans are becoming more productive over time thanks to technological innovation, and that workers should benefit from this increase. he cited research He said Americans work longer hours than in other wealthy countries, and that shorter work weeks have been effective in countries such as France, Norway and Denmark.

“The question we’re asking today is a very simple one: Will technology continue to benefit only the people at the top?” Sanders said. “Or do we require that these transformative changes benefit working people? And one of those benefits should be a shorter working week.”

Liberty Bittert, a professor of data science practices at Washington University in St. Louis, said that while some companies may be able to improve productivity more quickly, that is not possible for many companies and industries. Ta.

“More than 70 percent of the U.S. employment economy is people who work with their hands,” Wittert said. “They don’t necessarily have irrelevant meetings or coffee breaks that are too many to skip. So statistically speaking, you can’t apply this kind of time savings to the economy as a whole.”

Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said it could be helpful for large companies to voluntarily offer shorter hours to attract workers, but retailers and small businesses would be hurt. Ta.

“I’m not worried about big corporations,” Brown said. “They’re generally going to stand up anyway, and I believe anything that can be done to improve the position of workers there should be negotiated with them. But what about Main Street and small businesses? ?”

Cassidy also criticized Sanders’ own hiring practices.

“I would like to point out that the chairman does not do that to his staff,” Cassidy said of the 32-hour work week. “Why? Because it takes a certain amount of work to continue working. That’s just the basics.”