UE Convention Resolutions
Stop the Ten-Hour Day
For some time there has been a widespread campaign by business to do away with the eight-hour day by establishing a ten-hour-day, four-day work week – with no overtime after eight hours.
This looks good on the surface to some workers who are new to the labor movement. The companies are pushing for this and they say that you will have a three day weekend and this is why they don’t want to pay for the overtime at time and one-half.
Workers also don’t realize that they won’t always get a three-day weekend. An employee might work Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, therefore having Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday off, and not having a three-day weekend. Or, if no work is done on Saturday, an employee might work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, or any combination of the above during the work week. Since there won’t be overtime paid until after 40 hours, an employee may end up working longer than a ten-hour day, and on their fourth working day or any day in between, may end up working only a few hours and then being sent home so as not to pay overtime after 40 hours.
Our union strongly supports shortening the workday and workweek, and we should not move backwards.
The ten hour day stops the struggle for reducing working hours. These are some of the facts:
- Companies save money on a four-day schedule when they don’t have to pay premium rate.
- Each day of absence is more expensive to workers, since workers then lose ten hours’ pay.
- Similarly, additional days of vacation or holidays are also more expensive and employers will resist them strongly.
- There is ample evidence that a longer workday causes accidents and injuries.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THIS 70th UE CONVENTION:
- Reaffirms our long standing policy of overtime pay for any hours after eight and our goal of reducing the workweek to 35 hours with overtime after seven hours;
- Calls on Congress and state legislatures to improve existing overtime laws and regulations, and to provide for their vigorous enforcement;
- Calls on UE and the labor movement at large to resume its fight for a shorter work week.