From Australia a valuable reminder

About the need to balance work and life while they do have substantial paid holidays. Time to activate paid vacation acts at the state level?

What about a freelancersunion insurance in Washington State?

"Obamacare' remains a big mystery box in Washington State, leaving thousands, hundreds of thousands of people, including 'permatemps', alone to pick up a plan, without any serious clue. Time ot organize to negotiate collectively for the best plan(s) and also obvious but never mentioned policies that would definitely improve everyone's health like... paid vacation, paid sick leave, etc. Why not start a Washington State chapter of the freelancers union?

Paid Vacation's Decline (in the US)

This post by Catherine Rampell in a NYT blog.

Bullshit Jobs and why we are not working 4 hours day?

From David Graebner in Strike. The standard working time was last defined in the US by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Why should we still be in need of an 8 hour workload? The answer lies in how the benefits of the productivity gains have been distributed.

We Are All Connected

We Are All Connected video is on YouTube.

Unpaid Labor Day

Read the very ironical presentation of the Labor Day on the DOL's site. An unpaid holiday as nothing was included in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 as far as paid holidays and vacation are concerned. A situation that remains unchanged 75 years later.

The 25 hour work week?

Rana Florida explains the 25 hour work week (and plenty of paid vacation) in this  Fast Company article and a  book. It's always interesting to see that some corporations do provide healthy paid vacation. The challenge is to make it a standard, mandated and implemented policy for all.

Robert Reich's Trimmings for Labor Day

The good news this Labor Day: Jobs are returning. The bad news this Labor Day: Most of them pay lousy wages and low if non-existent benefits.

Abracadabra, you are a part-timer

This article about the shift to part-time jobs because there are no mandatory benefits (including paid vacation) for part-timers.

How to get the poor off our conscience

John Kenneth Galbraith wrote this article that was published in the November 1985 issue of Harper's Magazine (only subscribers have access to the archives). It has just be republished in French as 'L'art d'ignorer les pauvres'. Unfortunately it is still a very apt description of today's situation.

Opting for free time, 'work life-balance' as an economic justice issue

Sarah Jaffe about the right to free time. Amazing to see how the concept of paid vacation, the right to paid vacation are absent from the US psyche. Of course it's not by chance. Very interesting article and too rare although it suggests that there is (as it should be) a tremendous aspiration to less work and more free time, an aspiration that the dominant media and their masters obviously want people to ignore, keeping people in the resigned position that any other organization is completely impossible.
Here is another article devoted to shorter hours with 'good pay' with interesting historical references.

The Workers Defense Project: A union In Spirit

In the New York Times, this article by Steven Greenhouse about a new type of organizing: The Workers Defense Project.

Presidential vacations

From the Christian Science Monitor, while President Obama has started his summer vacation. President Taft's opinion, as reported in the July 31, 1910 issue of the New York Times: How Long Should A Man's Vacation Be? 
I asked the question to the White House. I'll let you know if I receive an answer.

Fast-Food Fight

An editorial from the New York Times and this comment by James Surowiecki in The New Yorker provide some context about the situation of low wage employees.

Paid Vacation in China

In the French daily Le Monde: Comment les Chinois partent en vacances. Legislation about mandatory paid vacation passed in 2008, even if it's not systematically implemented yet. It's more than what exists in the US.

Does Congress Get Actually 3 Months of Vacation Each Year?

In the blog The Constitution Daily.

The President and Amazon's Temps

From the Huffington Post.

Bad Jobs (especially for temps)

From Stanford

'Nonstandard' Work Now One Third of Washington State Job Market

This recent report (pdf) by Pugetsoundsage.org gives the details about this downward trend.
Here for the press release (pdf). Unfortunately, how many media (mainstream or else) have disseminated this July 16 information?

Reading Naomi Klein's No Logo about permatemps and no benefits jobs

Google Naomi Klein, No Logo and permatemps, you'll be directed to the 10th anniversary edition of her book (see description below) and here you can find how she describes Microsoft's strategy (page 251). The initial edition was published in December 1999, the 10th anniversary edition in November 2009.

McDonald's To Employees: Get A (Second) Job and what would happen if salaries doubled

As reported in Mother Jones. Don't miss Stephen Colbert's presentation.
As far as doubling salaries is concerned, the impact on McDonald's bottom line would be limited according to this post in the Huffington Post. This guestimate is excessive as it implies doubling all the salaries including executives compensation that should rather be reduced. The exercise is interesting as it shows the small impact of a raise of the lowest salaries. The same goes for providing paid vacation, a benefit systematically offered in all industrialized countries without any of the horrific consequences announced in the US if that was to take place. Of course, each time such a raise in benefits is implemented there are people crying wolf but to no avail: there is plenty of room for increasing benefits without endangering the global profitability.

An Open Letter to Jeff Bezos

From a temp worker.

Hawaii's Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, with 3 days of paid vacation ... per year

As reported in In These Times.

Is 'Alt Labor' a solution for temps and a campaigns for paid vacation for all?

This article in The Nation describes 'Alt Labor' initiatives. ie initiatives to improve the situation of non-unionized workers, about the totality of people in high tech. As far as the question of how to fund those organizations, my suggestion would be to mirror other NGOs that rely on thousands of individual members with a small contribution ($10/20 per year): if you do get enough members you can become sustainable while providing your membership with a public voice and services they would never get without joining forces within an NGO.

12 reasons for a minimum paid vacation law, according to Alan Grayson

Here are  in a word format the 12 reasons posted in support of Alan Grayson's HR2096 Paid Vacation Act of 2013 Bill (pdf). Unfortunately he did not provide the sources. A work in progress...

HR2096 Paid Vacation Act 2013's prognosis: 0% chance of being enacted.

The GovTrack.us site reproduces the text of the bill, and provides a prognosis: 0% chance of being enacted. After watching the fascinating report by Bill Moyers about The United States of ALEC, I think the same strategy of pushing state laws should be used to promote paid vacation for all.
What about using HR2096 as a model? Even if it is very, very modest.

How the overuse and misclassification of 'temps' is 'eroding' the US economy

This interesting opinion by Harold Meyerson in the Washington Post focuses about the negative impact of the abusive use of temps that are not really temps. The only remedy is to make all temps eligible for the same full time benefits as the 'regular' workforce: that's the law in most industrialized countries where you cannot hire 'temps' without providing them with full benefits, proportional to the duration of their work, ie if you worked one month you accrue 2 days of paid vacation, if you work two months 4 days, etc.
The companies that claim to be responsible corporate citizens should show the way by requiring that all the 'temps' they eventually use do obtain full benefits. For most of them this would only represent a very small share of their profits.
This system works in all the other industrialized world where those global companies profitably operate, why not in the US?
It is up to the people, the customers those companies depend upon to require that they do the right thing. The companies that will lead the way will reap plenty.

Opinion writer Robert Samuelson links (wrongly) paid vacation to unemployement

A particularly disingenuous presentation of the comparative situation of the US and the rest of the (industrialized) world as far as paid vacation is concerned. His very conservative conclusions are worth quoting (as they are completely wrong) but represent the type of arguments we'll hear over and over.
We could follow other advanced societies and legislate minimum vacations. This is a debate worth having — sometime in the future but not now. We need to remember the obvious: Paid leaves mean compensating people for doing nothing. There are consequences. The most likely are less hiring (because higher labor costs deter employers from adding workers) or eroding wages (because employers offset the extra costs by squeezing wages). It’s doubtful that mandated vacations would create many, if any, extra jobs. Europe has longer vacations — and higher unemployment. One is not the solution for the other.
Generous vacations might seem a cure for an overstressed America. But with stubbornly high joblessness and stagnant wages, the U.S. economy cannot afford policies that might worsen either or both. That would be a vacation from reality.

An amazing exercise in disinformation: there is nothing about the fact that European countries have had paid vacation for years (2 weeks was passed in the thirties), the claim that paid vacation are linked to high unemployement is completely bogus as the paid vacation policies were in place when there was much reduced unemployment, saying paid vacation don't create jobs is negating all the jobs linked to such paid vacations, talking about 'generous vacation' when the present US level is 0 is an amazing understatement. Of course as far as productivity and profitability is concerned Robert simply forgets all the US corporations that operate in Europe and have created millions of profitable jobs.

You can have a look at the 470+ comments...

Temporary jobs becoming a permanent fixture in the US

An AP story published in the Seattle Times. Also this post about the precarious life of temp workers.

Time Magazine's propaganda about happiness in America

Time's magazine wins the propaganda award with this article about the pursuit of happiness in America. The first sentences sort of say it all:
'If you're an American and you're not having fun, it just might be your own fault... You might have to work hard, but you'd have a grand time doing it.That promise, for the most part, has been kept.'
Amazingly, the same issue contains the damning article about The 4 AM army: 'Every morning, hundreds of thousands of workers show up for jobs that are unseen, uncertain and underpaid—and vital to the U.S. economy'. It did not make the cover though and this 4 AM army is completely absent from the 'pursuit of happiness' series. For obvious incompatibility.
They still give a link to contact Pro Publica about your experience as a temp worker.
And the pro Publica investigation in Temp land is still ongoing. Maybe they'll look at paid vacation or rather the complete lack of...

Take back your summer?

Take back your summer was a 2012 TV ad campaign for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Here is an interesting comment in Dissent. It does not look like there is a similar campaign this year. Not yet. Doug Finelli was the creative director of this campaign.
For the millions who don't have any paid time off it certainly has a bitter taste but they are not the 'target'. I wonder about the impact on people who do have paid time off but still feel pressured not to use them? Maybe they also have a bitter laugh. If any.

Expedia Canada: 2013 Vacation Deprivation Survey in Canada

Expedia Canada Press Release (below) explains Canadians wish for more vacation.

The rise of the blue collar temps

Pro Publica's investigative journalist Michael Grabell writes about blue collar permatemps and their scandalous work conditions. The article's title is : The Expendables: How the Temps Who Power Corporate Giants Are getting Crushed. It makes the white collar temps look privileged but they are still exploited the same way, ie without any benefits while the corporations they work for, the temp or the agency's client could very well afford living wages and full benefits. There is also a podcast.

How Microsoft spoiled my Fourth of July

With July 4th approaching, a friend sent us this short text to post on our blog and circulate as we like.
Jane Veedash will expand her reflections about jobs without benefits at Microsoft in an upcoming book, 'The Other Microsoft'.

How Microsoft spoiled my Fourth of July
by Jane Veedash

From GM to Microsoft, for a 'Treaty of Redmond'

In Who stole the American Dream, author Hedrick Smith tells (p.38) the story of GM and the Treaty of Detroit, how GM management negotiated with the United Auto Workers a 'grand bargain': shared prosperity for workers in return for labor peace. This 1950 deal was named 'Treaty of Detroit'.
Today what we need for the temps benefits is a Treaty of Redmond.
As Hedrick notices: 'Because the deal had the imprimatur of General Motors, it had a powerful ripple effect. It was soon matched by other automakers and then by major companies in other industries.' On could hope the same ripple effect would take place if, in reverse of what happened in 1999, Microsoft was taking the lead in promoting paid vacation (and other benefits) for the employees of the temp agencies they use. The difference with GM and 1950 (of course) is that there is no equivalent of the United Auto Workers and no strike.
Only what can be achieved with networking and the internet to hold Microsoft accountable to its Global Human Rights Statement.

Article en français sur les congés payés en Europe (25 juin 2013)

Un article qui s'interroge sur la taille des congés payés et l'impact sur la croissance économique.

Human rights are interdependent and indivisible

All human rights are indivisible, whether they are civil and political rights, such as the right to life, equality before the law and freedom of expression; economic, social and cultural rights, such as the rights to work, social security and education , or collective rights, such as the rights to development and self-determination, are indivisible, interrelated and interdependent. The improvement of one right facilitates advancement of the others. Likewise, the deprivation of one right adversely affects the others.
Source: United Nations

How the tech-industry ignores the huge inequality gap, including (of course) its contribution to this divide by the massive use of exploited 'temps'

This very interesting article by George Packer in the New Yorker about the high tech culture. Inspired by his most recent book, The Unwinding: An Inner Story of the New America. An interview on NPR.

Two interesting columns in the Seattle Times

In the June 2d issue of the Seattle Times, the column by Brier Dudley invites Microsoft to bring back its profits to the US and pay the corresponding taxes while Jerry Large invites corporations to pay living wages and decent benefits.

No-Vacation Nation Revisited

This report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research reviews the most recently available data from a range of national and international sources on statutory requirements for paid vacations and paid holidays in 21 rich countries (16 European countries, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States). In addition to our finding that the United States is the only country in the group that does not require employers to provide paid vacation time, we also note that several foreign countries offer additional time off for younger and older workers, shift workers, and those engaged in community service including jury duty. Five countries even mandate that employers pay vacationing workers a small premium above their standard pay in order to help with vacation-related expenses. Most other rich countries have also established legal rights to paid holidays over and above paid vacation days. We distinguish throughout the report between paid vacation ― or paid annual leave, terms we use interchangeably ― and paid holidays, which are organized around particular fixed dates in the calendar. Our analysis does not cover paid leave for other reasons such as sick leave, parental leave, or leave to care for sick relatives.
Here a review from USA Today, Huffington Post,

Reading In praise of idleness, by Bertand Russell (1932)

The essay, 'In praise of idleness' was first published in October 1932 in Harper's magazine. A strong argument for leisure time.

Washington State 2011 - Percentage of firms offering benefits

Permatemp at Apple, ABC, Google...

A lot of frustration for this ex-permatemp at Apple. To say the least. Here she points to Michael Moore's interview on ABC about his film Capitalism a love story: at the end he mentions ABC's own permatemps.  The interesting content of her petition to ask Apple to stop abusing its permatemps.
Permatemping is also big at Google, with a one sided and crass opinion about it by this 'regular' Google employee who has no clue about what's it's like.

Memory Lane: two excellent articles by Samatha M Shapiro about the 'permatemps' at Microsoft... 14 years ago

 The Temp's rights was published in February 1999 and Temporary Victory in May 1999, both in The Stranger. Samantha Shapiro is now a contributing writer with the New York Times and many other magazines. 14 years later, the Microsoft's temps are back to square 1.

The Vizcaino victory appears to have been quite temporary.

About the unequal access to paid leave in the US: more than 55 million Americans don't get paid vacation

In August 2012 the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the findings of a supplementary set of questions that had been asked as part of the traditional 2011 American Time Use Survey (ATUS). This survey provides estimates on how people spend their time. The additional leave module was sponsored by the Labor Women's Bureau: it computed data about wages and access to paid leave.  It showed a significant number of workers don't have paid leave. How significant?

Permatemps at Microsoft in 1999

Below two articles that describe the permatemps situation at Microsoft in 1999.
What about now in 2013? Isn't the situation very much the same as 14 years ago?

The more things change, the more they remain the same

From Hedrick Smith’s ‘Who Stole the American Dream’ (2012), page 75: “Permatemps” they were called, the wage serfs of the New Ecomomy. As the corporate poster child of ‘permatemping’, Microsoft used thousands of long-term temps for the sophisticated designing, editing and testing of software, among other jobs. Regular employees wore blue badges, permatemps wore orange.

Paid Vacation Act 2013 submitted by Alan Grayson

Alan Grayson (D-FL) has proposed a Paid Vacation Act that has no chance to be accepted by the present US Chamber of Representatives but it's worth reading :)
Thank you Alan for keeping trying.

US companies discuss guiding principles on business and human rights with the UN Working Group

I wonder if the implementation of article 24 was part of the discussion at this meeting that took place on April 29, 'hosted jointly by the UN Global Compact and BSR as part of an information-gathering visit to the United States by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights'. You can read a preliminary report of their one week visit (April 22-May 1) in the US here. It does contain a few criticisms.

In Microsoft's Corporate Citizenship's blog this post about Business and Human Rights.

What about the implementation of article 24 by Microsoft's suppliers?
A Look at the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

By Caroline Rees, President of SHIFT

The power of the stories

'Any person who is oppressed, whether it's by law or anything, the power of their story is going to help move the issue forward'.
Erika Andiola, interviewed in the NYT, April 10, 2013

The last data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: How much does paid time off cost?

Below is the March 12, 2013 press release devoted to the 'Employer Costs for Employee Compensation' last survey that provides interesting data about the average cost of paid time off and other benefits.

When is a temporary worker not really a temp? The Microsoft's case

Interesting December 2000 article in Forbes magazine, by Matthew Herper.

A key article published in August 2000 in Fast Company about Microsoft's permatemps

Here it is. Written by Ron Lieber, published in the August 2000 issue. It shows it's perfectly possible for so called permatemps to have benefits.

"In other areas, Decker has had more leeway to improve the standing of temporary workers at the company. In 1998, for example, she instituted a platform of changes that requires every temp agency that works with Microsoft to pay for at least half of a temporary worker's medical and dental insurance, to give workers at least 13 paid days off each year, to grant them at least $500 worth of training annually, and to establish a retirement-savings plan with at least some matching contribution from the agency. And, for the first time, all temps in every job category have a choice between at least two agencies that they can sign up with. "If you're going to use a contingent workforce, then you need to make sure that there's a safety net in place for those workers, and you need to underwrite the costs associated with that net," Decker says, noting that Microsoft now pays 20% more per worker to agencies than it did just a year ago."

From Fast Company, August 2000 issue

Degraded (and degrading) working conditions as described in the LA Times

In this article :(