[TheForge] Re: OT: several questions and thoughts

[GHS]

Demon Buddha wrote:

>   Wrapping it in noble sounding words such as "workers rights" and 
> "job safety" doesn't change what it really is.
>
>     -Andy

Workers rights is such a strange term:
Here is a short story from my family's history.

Our family business is a small sheet metal shop, doing mostly outside work.
We are in Wisconsin, so many years our actual productive time is limited.

My father had a real thing about guaranteeing 52 , 40 hour weeks to his 
guys.
The cash  flow, and my dads pricing was never such that overtime pay was 
a possibility most of the time when the work was actually being done. 
There was enough income to provide pay for the forty hour weeks during 
the slow time from Fall job payments and what work could be done between 
snowfalls. This was especially true if the guys would put in some extra 
time during the longer summer and fall hours hours.

What was worked out between my dad and the guys was this.
They would work whatever it took to get the work done  : They would 
collect straight time for the hours worked , up to 40 hours, with the 
remainder in winter when it would be paid out as part of the weekly 
pay.( This part being supported by the payment of jobs billed in the 
Fall and late Summer) The remainder was made up by hours actually worked 
if he called them in, if there was work to be done, and weather permitted.
If there was  not enough in the kitty, my dad took the money from his 
own pocket to make up the forty hours. The guys got any remainder around 
Easter if there was any left. This money was also available to support 
additional " family leave" income, over and above vacation time. So if 
you had a spring baby you could get your 40 hours and make it up later 
in the year.

Now this was mostly their own wages.  It was all in the timing. Other 
than one year when there was no summer overtime and my dad had to kick 
in almost the whole payroll (thank you Pres. Carter) the system worked 
well to everyones satisfaction. They got paid for 2080 hours a year, at 
straight time, whether it was worked or not, plus any extra winter hours 
at straight time.

The Fed then stepped in with union backed rules that mandated the 
payment of time and 1/2.
The guys "workers rights" were cut off at the knees. The reality was 
that  forty hours got worked in the summer and folks started getting 
sent home in the winter without pay.

Lets see Full time pay at 52+ weeks   vs. 40 weeks full time pay and 12 
weeks of spotty pay or unemployment.

It seems that individual worker should be able to make that choice 
themselves, especially in small shops.

Mike Graf



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