A Clear Case of Vacation Deprivation

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.afscmeblog.org/category/general/

A Clear Case of Vacation Deprivation
Friday, July 27th, 2007

American workers are renowned for working long hours. Unfortunately, we get no guarantee of paid vacation or holidays in return. According to a recent study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, this is the case for one in four American workers. Furthermore, private-sector employees who do get paid time off get a mere nine vacation days on average.

Overall, American workers average only 12 vacation days a year compared to 28 days in Great Britain, 35 days in Germany and 37 days in France.

Why do workers in other countries enjoy more paid time off? Here’s a hint: Widespread unionization. As this article from In These Times magazine states, “unions in Europe and other rich industrialized countries—whose contracts cover up to 90 percent of the workforce—typically negotiate additional time off. Meanwhile, the standard workweek is slightly shorter in many European countries, and workers retire earlier with better public pensions.”

The key word here? Unions. After all, if it weren’t for the labor movement, American workers would not have an eight-hour workday, a 40-hour workweek or a weekend.

[midnight]

1. France just looks better and better. More time off and health care.

I suppose those two benefits are compliments of the strong unions too.