re: #105 Targetpractice

The 8 hr work day and weekends are concepts that working men have unions to thank for.

If left up to companies like Delta, both would cease to exist in order to pursue higher profits.

So the next time you crack open a cold one with your buddies while enjoying your time off to watch a game, thank a union for making sure Delta doesn’t have you working unpaid overtime so their CEO can afford another yacht.

There are no labor unions in China, paradoxically. There;s been much online discussion here lately of the prevalence of “996” work requirements — 9 to 9 shifts, 6 days a week. It’s especially common in the tech and foreign trade sectors, as employers are trying to extract every last yuan of work from their employers. Some IT people complain, even with 996 schedules, their bosses still make them work overtime.

Factory workers have it a little easier, because bosses have realized (slowly) that exhausted workers can make catastrophic mistakes around machinery, so they have shorter shifts — though still work six days a week.