Last week, the president of the United States decided to join striking members of the United Auto Workers in Michigan. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked whether the president was, therefore, in favor of the union’s requests. She, of course, dodged the question in rich Biden administration fashion, refusing to “go into details.” These requests include an astounding 40% increase in pay and a 32-hour work week. More pay. Less work. Stand by for union requests asking for free trips to Disney World and flying broomsticks to take them there.
Of course, we know where the Biden administration stands on this issue. Despite the Biden administration’s deployment of acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and White House Senior Adviser Gene Sperling to help “fairly” mediate the situation, there is no impartiality from President Biden’s White House. The president actually held a bullhorn on the picket line and told the strikers to “stick with it.” Moreover, he was literally wearing their hat. His support for the union, laying plainly on his forehead, is about as direct of a message as possible. If I had a dispute with Iowa State University and the mediator walked in with Cy’s merchandise on their head, I probably wouldn’t be receiving the most impartial treatment.
The demands by the automobile union are unsurprising. There has been a wave in recent years calling for these shorter work weeks in the name of productivity. No study exists that actually shows that a shorter work week induces higher levels of productivity in any high-demand environment whereby workers could additionally use another day to complete further duties. That is common sense. When an equal level of output is demanded every day, obviously, a four-day workweek will produce lower returns than a five-day workweek.
Just to be clear, shrinking a 40-hour work week to a 32-hour work week is a net loss of 416 work hours per year. The UAW represents 150,000 American autoworkers, meaning there would be a loss of 62.4 million work hours if each member’s work week were shrunk from 40 hours to 32. That’s a lot of work lost. Let’s be honest: a work week of a tiny 32 hours is amusing and alarming. I’ve worked more than that while also attending Iowa State University. Humans used to eat what they kill, but I guess now we believe we should be rewarded for less work.
What about the arguments that a greater work-life balance is necessary for Americans? Is the current work week archaic and unnecessary in our modern era? I think not. There are 168 hours in a week; let’s say you sleep seven hours a day; that leaves you 119 hours left over. Then let’s take away that evil capitalist 40 hours of work; you still have 79 hours left over. Cry me a river. Go to work.
