Wisconsin Is Trying to Take Away the Right to a Weekend

originally posted by: olaru12
They better be happy they even have jobs. When Jeb and the neocons take over again, more jobs will be outsourced overseas so the Corporate profit cycle can be renewed, expanded and solidified.

We used to make steel in this country...now we make happy meals...

We still do make a lot of steel, but our creation of steel lowered when some strange thing called NAFTA was put into place. I forgot, which republican enacted that?

Let me also add that steel production has also lowered because technology is offering better and stronger materials these days. One time you would use a base carbon steel, you can now use a much stronger 304-316. Many shafts now can be created with just general carbon steels and be treated with a chromium coating. This allows for longer life of the steels, lowering overall usage. Aluminums, copper, brass, carbide, etc are all becoming more and more advanced and more and more durable.

originally posted by: ketsuko
I'm curious for all of you who are hyperventilating at the thought that Wisconsin might allow people to choose to work more than 5 days a week:
We always could work more than 5 days. In fact we can work 12 because we are on a 2 week rolling schedule. Say you take off Sunday of the 1st week and Saturday of the 2nd, you could work that many days in a row, 12.

1.) Are there other states that currently allow this?
No idea, I am sure most are similar.

2.) If there are, has the much-feared apocalypse of no time off EVER occurred in those states yet?
Certain jobs have higher expectations, the company I mentioned that wanted me to work that Sunday was generally work your 5 days and if you want more, you could and they would never turn you down unless you hadnt used your 24/hr break.

If so, you should easily be able to prove your fears. Right?

This is the challenge I get when I get I express fears over loss of freedom of religion. So fair is fair.

The law giving one day a week rest (Sunday) is bible based so this law should be abolished since everyone is screaming separation of church and state. You can't have it both ways.
a reply to: ugmold

originally posted by: ugmold

originally posted by: tothetenthpower
a reply to: NavyDoc

I'm no fan of Scott Walker don't get me wrong, but it seems like people are just making a mountain out of a mole hill with this.

There's plenty of other things to be upset about in that budget like the open record laws and shielding politicians from the media.

~Tenth

I agree. Problem is, it will become the norm, and no sign-up for it, no hire, no job. Funny (not) how these things morph into something bad.

That is the issue right there.

It erodes worker rights in the long run. But hey, never mind Wisconsin - we'll all be replaced by robots as soon as feasible anyways. Why worry? Right?

originally posted by: AbstractDreamz

originally posted by: olaru12
They better be happy they even have jobs. When Jeb and the neocons take over again, more jobs will be outsourced overseas so the Corporate profit cycle can be renewed, expanded and solidified.

We used to make steel in this country...now we make happy meals...

We still do make a lot of steel, but our creation of steel lowered when some strange thing called NAFTA was put into place. I forgot, which republican enacted that?

Let me also add that steel production has also lowered because technology is offering better and stronger materials these days. One time you would use a base carbon steel, you can now use a much stronger 304-316. Many shafts now can be created with just general carbon steels and be treated with a chromium coating. This allows for longer life of the steels, lowering overall usage. Aluminums, copper, brass, carbide, etc are all becoming more and more advanced and more and more durable.

I know all that. My statement was just an analogy that at one time America was an exporter, manufacturer of durable goods. Now about the only thing we export is WAR.

originally posted by: ugmold

originally posted by: tothetenthpower
a reply to: NavyDoc

I'm no fan of Scott Walker don't get me wrong, but it seems like people are just making a mountain out of a mole hill with this.

There's plenty of other things to be upset about in that budget like the open record laws and shielding politicians from the media.

~Tenth

I agree. Problem is, it will become the norm, and no sign-up for it, no hire, no job. Funny (not) how these things morph into something bad.

I completely agree, this could be one of those things which morph into "the norm" of things. JMO.

originally posted by: GUITARPLAYER
The law giving one day a week rest (Sunday) is bible based so this law should be abolished since everyone is screaming separation of church and state. You can't have it both ways.
a reply to: ugmold

Technically the Sabbath is on Saturday not Sunday.

a reply to: tothetenthpower

i agree mountain of mole hill

a reply to: buster2010
Depends who you ask really.

Man, from the time I left that #hole called high school, until the real estate kablooeyed, there was no such thing as "weekends". When we were lucky we got one day of "rest", which we spent most of the day working on renovating our house, pop's retirement fund, my higher education fund. The other 6 days we were gone 8-12+ hours a day working. Wasted my whole 20's, could have been pulling 5 days a week, 8 hours a day and still probably be the same financially at this point.

It's sad so many young people have to spend their youth slaving away trying to keep afloat, or god forbid invest and try to get ahead if they are lucky and can cash out at the right time.

And people wonder why so much of the population have anger, anxiety and depression issues. You don't get that time back, and before you know it you are looking in the mirror wondering WTF happened? Where did all the time go?

I don't know anyone who is really successful who only works 40 hours a week and no weekends. Those who are productive will work more. The problem of course is the unions don't want someone stepping out of line making them all look like lazy slobs.

Yes, there is a point where you can work too much. However, the individual needs to determine what their limit is and deal with the consequences. No one forces you to take a job.

When I was got out of college I took a job with a strategy consultancy and it was expected we would work whatever hours were required. Since we were salaried, there was no overtime. Granted, the salary was fairly high for a new college grad, but the hours and experience gained were the tradeoff. I had an opportunity to work on Wall Street but didn't because the analyst pay relative to the hours crossed what I found to be acceptable. I was willing to work 60-70 hours per week regularly, but not 90-100.

originally posted by: introvert
a reply to: tothetenthpower
Employees that are not well rested and do not have time to recharge after a long week can become a liability. Tired workers make mistakes that can lead to losses for the employer and possible injuries. I'm sure the insurance companies will have something to say about this at some point.

Any significant increase in Workers' Compensation claims would be enough to shut the new "policy" down, if not the entire company. I think you brought up a great point

The notion of a "Right to a Weekend" is just completely insane to me. Foreign. Unthinkable. I have a hard time even believing that anyone would think such a thing possible.

Work life supports a social life.

And in a country where folks are complaining about unemployment, does the OPTION to work straight through really seem that bad?

If there was a place on this planet where politics wasn't about twisting words up to the point its a lie, I'd be willing to fist fight Chuck Norris for a chance to live there. I am absolutely, completely at a loss for what to say to my countrymen, other than "snap out of it, dammit!"

I will never EVER side with a union. Especially the AFL CIO.

Why would anyone ever side with someone that you are forced to pay.

Work weekends if a person wanted too.

Oh the horror!.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
The notion of a "Right to a Weekend" is just completely insane to me. Foreign. Unthinkable. I have a hard time even believing that anyone would think such a thing possible.

Work life supports a social life.

And in a country where folks are complaining about unemployment, does the OPTION to work straight through really seem that bad?

If there was a place on this planet where politics wasn't about twisting words up to the point its a lie, I'd be willing to fist fight Chuck Norris for a chance to live there. I am absolutely, completely at a loss for what to say to my countrymen, other than "snap out of it, dammit!"

I said this earlier in the thread, but it basically comes down to competition. The people who accept worse schedules, in this case giving up days off will get the work. This is particularly true with such a high unemployment rate, with a high supply of workers this ultimately drives down working conditions for all because remaining competitive ultimately means giving up certain "perks" that others voluntarily gave up.

It's like minimum wage in that regard, without a minimum wage someone would take a cashier position for $7 instead of $8, then someone would take it for $6, and eventually someone would be taking it for very little money because something is ultimately better than nothing. I was listening to Sean Hannity's radio show today and there was a guy from Florida telling his story as a subcontractor. He was running a legitimate business and was eventually forced into a new career because immigrants, some legal and some not came along and took the work at a lower price. Eventually it got to the point where he couldn't even accept a job and break even while paying the lowest possible legal wages. Removing worker protections causes Americans to do this to each other and not just illegals working under the table.

Here in my town we don't have an illegal problem, but what we do have is 40% unemployment. Because of this employers have some ridiculous constraints they put on employees, for example there's a coffee shop I like to frequent and do computer work at. The baristas there work split shifts, there will be one there (the manager) from 10 am-8pm but then there will be another who works 7am-9am, 11am-1pm, 4pm-6pm and that's the typical shift, as a 4-5 day per week job. 6 hours of work, but the shift actually covers 11 hours of your day (or 30 vs 55 hours per week) which makes it hard to do anything like hold another job or go to school. What most of them end up doing is just sitting around the coffee shop unpaid until it's time to go on shift again because it's just not worth it to do anything else.

With low unemployment this sort of scheduling would be impossible because the market just wouldn't allow for it. I don't think we should be passing laws that encourage Americans to slit each others throats in order to get one of those sought after jobs.

a reply to: Aazadan

Those baristas need to tell them guys to shove it. I find it strange that people have hard times finding jobs. Whenever I post my resume to a job site I'm inundated by companies and calls. If I lived in an area like this, I would move, even if it meant sleeping in my car. 99% of companies are not like this.

originally posted by: AbstractDreamz
a reply to: Aazadan

Those baristas need to tell them guys to shove it. I find it strange that people have hard times finding jobs. Whenever I post my resume to a job site I'm inundated by companies and calls. If I lived in an area like this, I would move, even if it meant sleeping in my car. 99% of companies are not like this.

The owner of that coffee shop isn't a bad guy, he's just reacting to the unemployment rate. It's a rather popular shop since it's also a full bar and is frequented by all the towns politicians, so I get to talk to them a bit or listen to the owner plead his case (he's actively involved in trying to make the community better). As he likes to put it, what is he supposed to do? Unemployment is through the roof and before/after work and lunch breaks are the times he gets business. As it is he's able to give people 30 and sometimes (40 if they also split the shift to close as well) hours of work per week in an area where very few can manage over 20. If the employment market were better he would be more likely to get customers all throughout the day as people step in, and then he could justify better scheduling but as it is, this is what he has to do to make sure his employees can pay rent and that he can stay open.

I see it a different way though. If there were laws against scheduling the way he does, he and others in the town would have to hire more people which would ultimately create more business. However, that's the sort of thing that can't work on a voluntary market basis because it actively hurts the sole business owner who tries to schedule that way. It's the sort of thing that only works if everyone is on board.

a reply to: Aazadan

when i took my current job, i did at at 2/3 of its actual value. Because i wanted the job, had no experience doing the work, an was willing to slit someone's throat for it.

5 years later, im the only person left that opened this business (the director resigned, and the director of ops was fired and I took his job duties over with a hefty pay increase)

I like the idea of people competing for work. Because i did it, and it worked phenomenally well for me. I know individual anecdotes aren't always the norm....but in America it is the individual who's rights must be protected.

originally posted by: Aazadan

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
The notion of a "Right to a Weekend" is just completely insane to me. Foreign. Unthinkable. I have a hard time even believing that anyone would think such a thing possible.

Work life supports a social life.

And in a country where folks are complaining about unemployment, does the OPTION to work straight through really seem that bad?

If there was a place on this planet where politics wasn't about twisting words up to the point its a lie, I'd be willing to fist fight Chuck Norris for a chance to live there. I am absolutely, completely at a loss for what to say to my countrymen, other than "snap out of it, dammit!"

I said this earlier in the thread, but it basically comes down to competition. The people who accept worse schedules, in this case giving up days off will get the work. This is particularly true with such a high unemployment rate, with a high supply of workers this ultimately drives down working conditions for all because remaining competitive ultimately means giving up certain "perks" that others voluntarily gave up.

It's like minimum wage in that regard, without a minimum wage someone would take a cashier position for $7 instead of $8, then someone would take it for $6, and eventually someone would be taking it for very little money because something is ultimately better than nothing. I was listening to Sean Hannity's radio show today and there was a guy from Florida telling his story as a subcontractor. He was running a legitimate business and was eventually forced into a new career because immigrants, some legal and some not came along and took the work at a lower price. Eventually it got to the point where he couldn't even accept a job and break even while paying the lowest possible legal wages. Removing worker protections causes Americans to do this to each other and not just illegals working under the table.

Here in my town we don't have an illegal problem, but what we do have is 40% unemployment. Because of this employers have some ridiculous constraints they put on employees, for example there's a coffee shop I like to frequent and do computer work at. The baristas there work split shifts, there will be one there (the manager) from 10 am-8pm but then there will be another who works 7am-9am, 11am-1pm, 4pm-6pm and that's the typical shift, as a 4-5 day per week job. 6 hours of work, but the shift actually covers 11 hours of your day (or 30 vs 55 hours per week) which makes it hard to do anything like hold another job or go to school. What most of them end up doing is just sitting around the coffee shop unpaid until it's time to go on shift again because it's just not worth it to do anything else.

With low unemployment this sort of scheduling would be impossible because the market just wouldn't allow for it. I don't think we should be passing laws that encourage Americans to slit each others throats in order to get one of those sought after jobs.

Competition also raises incomes, not just lowering them. When there is a finite supply of workers, businesses are then forced to pay more. In situations where supply is low, companies often roll out the red carpet for employees - summer hours, signing bonuses, etc

The problem at the lower end is that both liberals and RINOs support open borders. Wages have stagnated because supply of lower skilled workers keeps increasing. Liberals see illegal immigrants as future voters and RINOs are bought and paid for by the Chamber of Commerce seeking cheaper labor. What is hilarious to me though is that Democrats hold to opposing positions. On one hand, they keep crying about raising the minimum wage, but then on the other hand they keep bringing in more supply of lower skilled workers which continues to depress wages. Makes zero sense.

The quickest way to increase wages for everyone at the bottom is to cut off unskilled immigration.

originally posted by: Edumakated
The problem at the lower end is that both liberals and RINOs support open borders. Wages have stagnated because supply of lower skilled workers keeps increasing. Liberals see illegal immigrants as future voters and RINOs are bought and paid for by the Chamber of Commerce seeking cheaper labor. What is hilarious to me though is that Democrats hold to opposing positions. On one hand, they keep crying about raising the minimum wage, but then on the other hand they keep bringing in more supply of lower skilled workers which continues to depress wages. Makes zero sense.

The quickest way to increase wages for everyone at the bottom is to cut off unskilled immigration.

Was there not a circumstance in Alabama of late, whereby employers were forbidden to hire undocumented labour, and the agricultural sector fell apart because the locals were not interested in doing such hard work for such little pay?
I'd be curious to know if wages went up (along with the price of produce)...or if the law quietly went away.