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Working Hard?
Two related stories about working hard in the U.S.: U.S. workers are granted less (and take less) vacation time than workers in other industrialized nations. And if that wasn't enough, changes to the overtime laws will eliminate overtime pay for many workers.
First off. I'm one of the people that thinks this is a good thing. Here's why:
Most of the lower end hourly employee's in this country abuse the system and cost the tax payer HUGE amounts of money because they are pushing the cost of the hourly wage up higher and back to the employer.
Here's an example:
Say your a grocery clerk earning $12.00 an hour stocking shelves. You work 4 days a week and you work on a sunday. You opt to NOT work that 5th weekday because you know that you can make double time, or time and half on sundays. So you work your way up the ladder and get that sunday as a "cherry" day where you could have simply worked that "normal day". There is SO MUCH of this, it's crazy.
The problem with this? Easy. Why on earth is someone who works at a supermarket on sunday's entitled to make time and a half because it's "sunday"? And why is it a "right" or a "law" it's crazy.
And don't give me this "holy day" crap. It's a load.
Think about it. You can basically do ANYTHING you want on sunday's. Go to the movies, buy a DVD, drink at a bar. So, I question the reasoning behind this perk as being just another "unionized hold over" from the days of unionized bullyism with employer's of non-salaried companies. Once a union get's their grips on the employer, it's like a leech sucking the life from the host...
Let's face it; An hour a person works putting can's on a shelf on monday is no different than the hour he she works on a sunday. Why does that person need to earn 50% more because it's frickin' sunday.
Remember, these laws cost us. The employer eats this salary and doesn't get to claim that employee's hours on the books -- it's considered "overtime" and not part of the 40 hours work week. It effects unemployement taxes and is a huge burden on the accounting side.
It eventually hurts the employer by costing them lot's of money which they eventually push back to us by keeping the prices up and/or hiring less employees.
I say "shit or get off the pot". If you want sunday to be a "holy day" or you don't want to have overtime pay for over 40 hours for certain types of "non-exempt" employee's then you can't have "wishy washy" blue law's that just don't make sense anymore in 2003.
I know one thing. My brother-in-law who's in a union and works for a grocery chain here in MA was complaining recently that he has to now pay for health insurance. I thought (that sucks), then he told me it was $50.00 a month. I almost puked. We (I own a software company here in Boston) pay $925 per family to BCBS -- I'd kill for $50.00 a month... But, yet, he complains.
Yes, he's very angry that he can't earn $34.00 an hour on sunday's anymore instead of making $22.00 on a normal day. Now he'll just work friday's instead of switching off on sunday's cause he's got "seniority". I guess his golf game might suffer.
I think hourly and non-salaried folks who are in these situations have to wake up.