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[Thomas Beckett <thomas AT tbeckett.com>]

I would note that the five-day work week (as opposed to six), the 
forty-hour work week (as opposed to god knows how many hours), paid time 
off and health insurance and other benefits are a direct product of the 
organized labor movement.  I would also note that further advances in 
these areas have waned, roughly along the same time frame as the 
organized labor movement has waned.

TaB

Alan MacHett wrote:

> "I have a million things that I could rant about."
>  --Anonymous
>
> I briefly considered replying to the request, but it's just going to be a
> glossed-over, pointless article.  But that's not really what my rant is
> about.  It has to do with every such article, every public complaint. 
> They're all pointless.
>
> Similar to the proposed article, I keep hearing how we Americans work too
> much.  Only the Japanese work more, it is said.  Europeans get so much
> more time off, it is said.  The French recently lowered the work week to
> 35 hours.  A working couple today still struggles to meet the same ends
> that a single wage earner accomplished a generation or two ago.  Vacation
> time still isn't a legal requirement; it's a privilege, not a right
> ("they" say that about everything).  Blah blah blah, etcetera such and so
> forth.
>
> I've been hearing these complaints for years, but has anything changed? 
> Nope.  If anything, we continue to work more and more.  Nothing changes. 
> So why the hell do we bother to rant and rave about such things?  Does it
> make us feel better, just enough that we can continue to tolerate the
> injustices that make up our lives?
>
> Women still earn 75% of their male counterparts.  Non-whites are still
> second-class citizens.  The haves still have and the have-nots still buy
> into the system, convinced by Hollywood and legends that they too can make
> it someday.  And nothing ever changes.
>
> I'm tired of hearing people complain.  I'm tired of complaining myself. 
> We need to get up off our complacent asses and do something, anything.  If
> it's voting you believe in, go vote.  Go write a letter to your
> representative.  Go protest.  Hell, go blow up Time-Warner or Fox News or
> Bill Gates' house.  Just *do* something.  Stop believing in all this crap.
>
> eh, enough already.  I'm going to go blow something up...
>
> -peace,
> -Alan
>
> krives said:
>
> > Hello everybody. Hope I'm not bothering you with this request. Yes, it's
> > once again an N&O reporter seeking comment.
> > I'm working on a story for tomorrow about the tendency we have here in
> > the U.S. to go to work even though we're sick. Many of us think we can't
> > afford to stay home because work would pile up in our absence. Or we
> > feel guilty  when our co-workers have to pick up the slack. Perhaps we
> > can't stay home because we have run out of sick time, or feel too
> > "dedicated" to work to stay out.
> > I was wondering if any of you have gone to work on days when you should
> > probably have stayed home in bed, and if I could talk to you for a few
> > minutes on the phone about that? My number is below.
> > Thank you very much for your time and consideration!
> >
> > --
> > Karin Rives
> > Workplace Reporter
> > The News & Observer
> > (919)829-4521 or (800)365-6115
> > 215 S. McDowell St.
> > Raleigh, N.C. 27601
> > krives AT newsobserver.com
> > ---
>
>
> ---
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