Working Longer and Enjoying It Less?

by Tom Suhrbur

“Eight hours of work, eight hours of rest and eight hours to do what we think best”
Eight-Hour Day Slogan (circa 1890)

In the 19th century, the workweek was 60 to 72 hours Monday through Saturday with Sunday off. The fight for the eight-hour day has been a rallying call for the working class since the early day of the union movement. An American Federation of Labor pamphlet in 1899 stated: “Rest cultivates, drudgery brutalizes.” While a shorter workday was viewed as a cure for unemployment, low wages and a host of social ills, it also meant more leisure time to enjoy life. It meant more time for one’s family. Shorter hours would also provide workers time for personal development to pursue their talents in art, music and other endeavors.

After a century of struggle, the eight-hour day and 40 hour week was generally realized for workers in 1938 with the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This was one of the greatest achievements of the labor movement. Even though the FLSA that provided 40 hour week and overtime pay is still intact today, the intent of the law has been seriously undermined over the last 30 years. The loss of millions of manufacturing jobs to low wage nations as a result of free trade, the aggressive campaign against unions and the ever increasing reliance on part-time and temporary employment have undermined wages in the U.S. The declining standard of living of the working families has forced many workers to take second and even third jobs to make ends meet. In effect, many wage earners are working more than the standard eight-hour day, 40 hour week.

Are the days gone when a factory worker could support seven children on one income, own a home, feed and cloth the family, own a car, take the family on a vacation each year, have full-paid family health insurance and a decent retirement? My father did! But part-time and full-time temporary jobs are now 19.3% of the U.S. employment. Many wage earners cannot even find full-time employment today. Instead, they are trying to eke a living by working just part-time and temporary full-time jobs. This is especially true in higher education. Unemployment in December was 8.5% but “under employment” is not reported as being unemployed. Millions of other unemployed workers have stopped searching for jobs. They too are not reported in the 8.5% rate.

A family member of mine is under employed. He has been working numerous temporary full-time and part-time jobs since 2009 making about $25,000 annually. He has an MS in Natural Sciences. He puts in about 50 to 60 hours per week. One of his jobs for the past two years is full-time but only for nine months with no health insurance, sick leave or other benefits. He does substitute teaching. He works Saturday as a docent at a county conservation district and tutors in the evenings at a private tutoring company. He cannot find a full-time job but is not unemployed.

Besides low wages, a major incentive for hiring part-time and temporary workers is the high cost of private health insurance. All of the developed nations have national health care systems that shift the cost of health care from private employers to the general public through taxation. In the U.S., individual employers must purchase health insurance for themselves and, if they choose, for their employees. Our private for profit health care system is the costliest in the world in terms its share of the gross national product. Yet, more than 50 million Americans have no health insurance. Decent health insurance coverage cost at least $10,000 for an individual and much more for family coverage. Many employers have opted out of full-time employment for this reason alone.

Tom Suhrbur recently retired after 26 years as a union organizer for the Illinois Education Association. He is currently the Vice-President of the Illinois Labor History Society. This post originally appeared in the Chicago DSA newletter New Ground.