40 Hour Week (For a Livin')

When my father, fresh out of college (and the first in his family to do so), started work in 1940, the work week was 48 hours.  Sundays off, and that was it.  After the war, the week decreased to a half day Saturday, 44 hours total.  And soon went to the 40 hour week we have now.  The ten and twelve hour days were gone.  He always predicted that my generation would see an even shorter work week.  Little did he know what we would impose on ourselves. 
I've seen those who work 7 days a week, 18-20 hours a day.  That is insanity.  And in his day, men took their vacation, which gradually got longer.  When he got four weeks, that what he took.  He was gone from mid-July to mid-August, and the company got someone to cover for him.  Now, most professionals are afraid to take more than a week. 
Up in Michigan the UAW had a contract that called for retirement after 30 years of working.  I don't know where that is now.  Now, most people are working into their 70's.  In Europe, the work week is 35 hours in some places and retirement is at age 60. 
On the other hand, the WW II generation with their generous retirements at age 65 went home, lived 7 years, and died at 72.  And I think sometimes it was from sheer boredom.  Now, folks who retire start new careers or do volunteer work or travel.  Anything but the rocking chair on the front porch. 
Good morning to all of you in Europe who will be rising soon.  I am off to bed and a night's sleep.

Thank goodness for labor.

Surely work is one of our richest blessings.

Good night.

And good rest.

This would be my choicefor working song.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DREPUgZVGWM&feature=related

or this   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY3aljAO7qU

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

                                                -- Winston Churchill

My Uncle Hymie told me once, "Hard Work Never Killed Anybody ..." which might not exactly be true ... But I was quick to remind him that Taking it Easy  accounted for very few casualties also .......

Well quoted, RoadYacht. Old Winnie did have a way with words.

Janej78~ thanks for the list of avian collective nouns -(yesterday) - it has the makings of a poem.

We don't have a Labor Day here but thinking of all the people who should be appreciated .... it can't be written because somebody really important might get left out. My flavour of the week is Air & Sea rescue. It's great to trust that clean water will come out of the tap, elecricty & 'phone services will come down the wires, the garbage collectors will arrive, 911 will sort you out if you's in bad trouble & when you flush the loo, somebody, eventually, has to deal with your shit.

Having briefly lived in a place with no garbage collection, I find the arrival of the garbage truck each week to be a moment of gratitude.  How wonderful!  You put it out at curbside, and then, in a moment, it is gone, never to be worried about.  We really do have some amazing luxuries in the modern world.  As Hazel so aptly noted, we get pure water from the tap, we have electricity that is normally available 24/7, and emergency services to save us from our perils - all those things that most of the world does not have.  Tomorrow, my five year old grandson starts kindergarten and his thirteen year experience will cost little or nothing, just lunch money. an occasional notebook or fee for a school outing.  And all of these things from people who labor with such skill and dedication as they can muster.  I've thought at times that if we could build a time machine that living in the past would be much more difficult than living in most of the Third World.  I cannot shave with a straight razor, and I don't really know how they managed to trim fingernails, bathe or do other basic necessities in times before the twentieth century.  So, in addition to being grateful for those who work, I am also grateful today for our modern world.
As Benjamin Franklin is reputed to have said, "'Tis better to sit than to stand and to lie down than to sit."  Jalopkin, it's another point of gratitude, that the modern world does not require us to work ourselves to death just to get enough morsels of food that we don't die.  I'd rather live in a world where the life expectancy is heading toward eighty than one where it is thirty.

woodpecker logic

 the man and I disagree

what’s bad for him is good for me

 i beat my head against a tree

and the universe provides for me

 he beats his head against a tree

and gets so dizzy he can’t see

to use our heads indubitably

truly shapes our destiny

relax & be labor free

bird logic ala tommy t

Johnny  Paycheck,  whose  hit  "Take  this  job  and  shove  it"  propelled  him  to  celebrity  status,  was  born  &  raised  in  adjacent  Highland  County,  Ohio.   Apparently  his  temper  wasn't  just  directed  against  those  who  employed  him.   He  served  11  years  for  manslaughter.  
 
I  think  we  need  to  include  with  Peterman's  list  of  those  who  are  paid  far  less  than  they  are  worth  those  in  the  armed  forces.   Unless  and  until  we  can  figure  out  how  to  mediate  peacefully  our  differences,  there  will  be  those  for  whom  family  will  merely  be  a  memory,   and  holidays  will  mean  at  best  5  minutes  on  a  poor  telephone  connection  home.

I overslept this morning and woke up to Kathie Lee on the Today show stating that my chosen profession is the lowest paid in the country.  According to her list the coping professions, (social work, education) are at the bottom of the economic barrel.  Of course, she mentioned that these jobs offer "rewarding" work and stated that so many billionares are unhappy.  Maybe they are unhappy because they feel guilty.  Billionaires like everyone else in this country have had access to to educators and social workers at some point and generally urge politicians to save money by closing hospitals, firing teachers and slashing budgets for community services .f

Julia - If you wake up to Kathy Lee you're definitely gonna get up on the wrong side....  Thank you for what you do and enjoy the rest of the day. Be well all of yous guys and gals......

Julia- There is not a day that goes by that I don't remember and/or say "Thank you, Lord" for the wonderful teachers who were more like Moms to me than sterile education machines. They thought less about technology and more about that one on one experience that is all about not what to think than how to think. Learning to think (and good posture) is a key to self esteem and success. My wife, the dedicated third grade teacher at a public school, sits on a special throne in my house (actually an overstuffed chair and a big ottoman to hold all her papers) and books are treated with the sacredness that they deserve. While I watch my favorite shows, she is mst often grading papers well into the night and most times when we go out, a child and a grateful parent rush over to us just to say "Hi".  Seeing her in those old reading glasses is about as sexy as it gets and her worth is priceless. 

Good morning all...! It's been some time since my last dispatch. Thanks Paul for your comments. Ivan...you and yours are lifted up in pray here as well. Stoney...Oklahoma is a thin excuse but it's all I had. To the rest...and there are many new faces I see...will be prowling the sidelines so watch what you say...I'll be reading. I must be off. Before I forget...everyone have a wondeful day off if it is afforded you...KYC

KFC:  Good to see you !!! Trust all is well ... have been checking by your other Site ......

It's been along time since i posted also.  I am self employed now and love my work but, I have to be available 24/7 and definittely work more than 40 hours.  I don't get paid for a year or so per case until the court reviews my fees and approves them...cash flow???  Have a dificult case and the fees are high....they could cut the fees.
 
I have been lucky and now have two employees.. so I am helping the economy I guess.
 
It used to be you found a job and were loyal....It was the job you had for life.
 
Now there is such uncertainty.  People are in essense (spell check?)out of control  of their lives because most assume they will be laid off but, they don't know when.  Those that aren't laid off take over the work of those that were and are afraid to they can't.
 
My son works as a mechanic/salesperson in a bicycle shop.  He's the top salesman.  A college grad who has worked there almost four years.  His salary is $13/hr.  No benefits, vacation or paid holidays.  He doesn't dare quit because he is afraid he won't find a job.
 
I used to work in the apparell industry and managed plants all over the country.  None of them exist now.  IF I was still in the industry I would be among the unemployed.
 
So, I am gratefull that I found a job that I love, I am my boss so it is my fault I don't take a vacation, I am able to employ a few people and pay them full benefits, and it is recession proof. I am finally able to  put money in a retirement fund as I never had a job that did pay into a pension.  And i will probably keel over one day and my son will inherit it and be able to look for a new job.
 
 
 

Thanks Peter and Tommy.  Have  a great day.

Gosh, I feel especially blessed when I read the above; I have always been a 'fix it guy', saving some form of machine from death (and often that included its driver/owner/rider), and when I 'retired' from that, I went into saving homes from the same fates, and then, I kind of found a niche fixing refrigeration (and heat) because food,and medicine, and comfort are as important as anything else you can name....I employ people as I need, on a contract  per basis, usually guys in my field that are not as successful at sales and promotion as I, but competant,and self insured, with experience I can verify.  I love to teach them finer points of the trade,(I am still in school,everyday,factory training,etc., online)and  I seem to be able to teach naturally, finding their level of comprehension,and building upon common experience. As long as there are broken things, fix it guys will work, and when money is short, there is barter

RY- The capitalist with a heart for humans has been my profession. For 30 years, I have worked for myself in various enterprises and I have always utilized independent subs working for me and all made a great wage. I told each of them that they are a corporation of ONE. I wish that the "dadblame doggone guvment" would forget their policital cronies and the multinationals and consider those who actually make and fix stuff, working folks. My Uncle Audra was a preacher and he would look at a person's hands and touch them and part of his evaluation of a person was the work they had done. I felt honored when he looked at mine and said I was a good man. 

I have my dream job and that allows me to take the day off and celebrate.
The weather is gorgeous here and I'm having crab and wine.
I did a little, very little work, on my deck garden, and now it's time to relax.

I hope you'll all enjot this day.

or maybe enjoy.

Peterman's  song  about  work  reminds  me  of  Carl  Sandburg's  poem  "Chicago."    In  the  alternative,  I'm  reminded  of  Studs  Terkel's  book  "Working."   It's  interesting  how  flexible  the  human  machine  can  be  to  pay  the  bills.   With  the  proper  focus,  work  can  be  a  conduit  of  spirituality,   the  way  we  put  meaning  into  our  otherwise  dreary  &   thankless  lives.   Work  has  dignity  because  it  is  the  product  of  human  beings.

I  think  my  favorite  working  song  is  "That  lucky  old  sun"  by  Ray  Charles.  

Our oldest ,a girl, is a special ed teacher that retired after 21 years in Alaska, mainly very rural or on the islands. She actuall see Russia from her front porch when she was on Litttle Dioamede. After coming back to Wa. she is again teaching in a special ed capicity on an Indian reservationhere in the state and is enjoying it.  feels like she is making a difference.
On a trip to visit one summer my wife and I took a sighting seeing trip on a large river boat. The guides were girls from the small villigages and islands that were students at U of A in Fairbanks and thet had nametags that also said where they were from. 2 were from an island where she taught and one was from a small village in the bush where our daughter had taught. Upon ashinf if they knew her they all said yes and they loved her and all of the three said they would't be in college if it wasn't for her and treated us like royalty after we told them who we were.Made us feel very proud.
Our son is now starting his 21st year as a special ed teacher that is in the juvenial justice system dealing with a lot of gang bangers as well as kids that just screwed up a little. He s get s mail from former students that he has helped and gone on to live better lives than one would have expected ,in cluding a couple that are career air force people all the mail in cludes a thank you for helping to straighten me out.
So even as a parent I can understand the rewards.
Our daughter worked as a bank teller,waitress andd other jobs before she decided what she wanted to do.
Our son had a year of college and decided he wanted to make big bucks instead of going to school so worked on a fishing boat in Alaska for 2 years and did make big bucks, Paid cash for a BMW, took a 2 month trip to euorpe, spent one winter being a ski bum. He then told me
he was going back to school because the fishing boat work was really hard and he did't plan on working that hard for the rest of his life.

Julia, teachers like yourself and Tommy's wife are not the exception, youze
guyze rule.  After I make my first billion I will give half of it back to all of
my teachers who are still living.
 
Bert, Roady8's (if that is your real name) comment about barter brought to
mind how you and Atticus both eke out a living on a few cash payments and
whatever potatoes or chickens the Cunninghams are able to bring your way.
 Lawyers, I suppose, were barter once.
 
Road Yacht, do you have a photo of your new
acquisition?  It brought you home safe and sound, I take it?
 
Ivan, Willie tells me those gorgets are still
flashing over the Palmettos.
 
KyC, I hope your time off was as good as you made
it look and sound.  I'm certain it was everything you expected.
 
It is back out into the weather for me, what a
beautiful weekend we have been blessed with...I hope y'all are blessed as
well.

For you BERT.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4fwFcJYwao

Approaching road-mending works over here, we have these triangular warning signs with what looks like a man haviving difficulty opening an umberella. Frequently, when you drive by said roadworks, not a soul in sight, no work whatsoever happening. If "workers" are on site, one half will be breast feeding their shovels watching the other half work.
Work song? The Seven Dwarfs in the Snow White Disney film  singing "Heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to work we go ...."

I honestly hope that the horrible interval of unemployment in this country might coax people into thinking like entrepreneurs. Investment capital to start up small businesses is very inexpensive at present. Where I live, in good times and in bad, the same issue vexes everybody, and that seems to be the getting of reliable, competent services----house cleaning, lawn mowing, brush clearing, house repairs, car detailing. I have been roundly disappointed by the fact that in procuring any of these, people seem to have no interest in following instructions, showing up, showiing up on time, showing up non-intoxicated. Guess money's not a problem for them. A classic type of thing that happens here occured with the last house cleaners I let go. Over the span of 18 months, what took 1 person 2 hours to do gradually escalated into taking 2 people 4 hours each to do.....with no increase in amount of work accomplished. Also, I noticed the smell of bleach on many occasions, and kept emphasizing that I wanted NO bleach used. Then I noticed that a really beautiful Virgin icon a friend from Romania gave me has spackled marks of bleach staining all over it.

For heaven's sake, karma swim swami, since the end of the second world war the english upper classes have been complaining "You can't get the staff these days!" Shame I don't live nearer to you, I could do with a couple of hours cash in hand, no tax work & I hate bleach.

Paolos, you are a wise man to spot a gorget- only once in a blue moon does such a person appear.  All of this talk about work reminds me of two things: 1) about 30-35 years ago, the minimum age and our local state university tuition were such that you could work for three months and pay for a year of college. You havd to live at home to do it and you coudn't spend it all on a barefoot gas pedal, but you could work 520 hours and cover your tuition at Wattsamatta U. 2) THIS:      http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24labor-t.html?_r=1&em         ; Sorry, no beat at all, but  I love the lyrics.

While you are all busy cooking your evening meal, I'll tell you a story:
The place I live is on a Country Estate, Big Old Mansion for the Landlord, lots of farms & cottages rented out. I became good friends with the landlord's daughter & then with the whole family. Sadly, the Mum died of cancer & I became the unofficial housekeeper.(On top of whatever else I was doing at the time) The Dad re-married & the new Mrs was most displeased when I arrived to help out with a dinner party, half an hour before time, through the front door & had a drink with all the guests, as I always had done before the new Mrs was around. The Mrs had a word with me to the effect that in future, I should come in through the back door & know my place. I pulled Dad & daughter into the kitchen for one of those ..... conversations. Result!!!! New Mrs was, desevedly, in disgrace. She hated me for evermore, but was obliged to be acidly "nice" to me.

Hazel - I think that phenomenon is worldwide.  If there are four roadside workers, one will be working, two either breastfeeding their shovels (as you aptly put) or sleeping on them, and the fourth (standing apart and with a dressier shirt) will be supervising.  Exactly what it is about digging a hole that requires close supervision is beyond me.  Or the major expressway with one lane closed for work with no one apparent for days.  When I was in China, it was similar, except they avoid any power or mechanical tools and do everything by hand, so the number of workers escalates enormously into the dozens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDySfmZlcr0    ; And you can dance to it.

Nice one, Willie. Bed time over here. Wonder what tomorrow will bring.

hazel ~
Is Merchant and Jim Ivory were over for drinks on the screen porch and, to make a long story short, they want to option your life.
I'll put them in touch with you if you promise not to forsake the village.

We noticed a little of that class thing in London when returning to a shop where we had been grandly ignored but this time carrying bags and parcels from some decidedly upscale places, it took a spatula to pry their lips off my backside.
We laughed out loud while buying.

Stoney, have you had the ouija board out again?        http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article1079969.ece

STONEY:
Sounds a lot like Pretty Woman. They just need to know you got the gold.

Willie, my wisdom, if I have any, is knowing when to listen and learn.  I was one of those who saw the moon in the flag until Sir Ivan pointed out that it is a gorget.  The things you can learn here will always amaze me.  Good night all; it has been a good day.

Hazel---if you were nearby I'd jump at having you available and would say work as much as you want: I suspect that you frogmarch any bad essence away from any situation you enter.

For anyone interested, Akira Kurosawa's wonderful film "Dersu Uzala" is running on TCM tonight at 0230 central time. It represents two "firsts" for Kurosawa---the film is in Russian, and so is Kurosawa's only non-Japanese film; it also received on Oscar.