Why autoworkers' leader is calling for a 4-day work week from Big 3 car makers
Shawn Fain, the president of the UAW, is calling for a 32-hour work week at 40 hours of pay for autoworkers, an idea that was first embraced by the union's leaders almost a century ago.
What if you could work just four days a week but get paid for five?
That's essentially what Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, has been agitating for in ongoing labor talks in Detroit.
The reform-minded union leader envisions a 32-hour work week for 40 hours of pay, and overtime for anything more.
As wild as that might sound, he's leaning on a concept that has captured the imagination of workers all over the world, thanks to widely publicized trials. Microsoft ran a month-long pilot in Japan in 2019 and, including a 40% increase in productivity. More recently, dozens of companies in the U.S., Canada, and Europe have participated in ongoing trials that have likewise been deemed successful.
