2007-03-22 15:51:34 · 7 answers · asked by FB 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Careers & Employment
unions and labor laws
2007-03-22 15:55:11 · answer #1 · answered by clos1120 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The union came up with it as a reduction from the 10 and 12 hour days that were the norm in the early days of the Industrial Revolution. Factories employed children, immigrants and poor people and then worked them long hours under terrible and unsafe conditions. The Triangle Shirtwaist fire in NYC, where a lot of seamstresses died in a fire because the exits were jammed, there were no emergency routes, etc., caused a lot of labor activists to sit up and take notice. They started organizing folks into work unions that negotiated for better pay and working conditions.
The typical work week in many European countries is 38 or 35 hours, and the work week in many Asian countries is more like 50+ hours, so we're somewhat unique in the 40-hour work week standard.
2007-03-23 00:41:11 · answer #2 · answered by Mel 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Congress. Ever heard of the Fair Labor Standards Act?
2007-03-22 22:59:48 · answer #3 · answered by krollohare2 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a distillation of umpteen centuries of labour/management relations and legistation.
Incidentally...not every country has a legislated 40 hour work week. I've "seen" high 40's and low 30's in other countries.
2007-03-22 22:57:51 · answer #4 · answered by jcurrieii 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Overtime is the key, you have to work over 80 hours to make it. Your employer has the choice of a 7 or 14 day pay period. 7 days means no overtime.
2007-03-22 22:56:08 · answer #5 · answered by J W 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
haha that is pretty funny because i just learned about this in history today lol
it was truman or eisenhower (one of them i dont rly pay THAT much attention) and he did it because of inflation and people were getting paid less and prices were going up
2007-03-22 23:00:48 · answer #6 · answered by strow 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its called labor laws so we can pay taxes.
2007-03-22 22:55:00 · answer #7 · answered by mikesdaman71 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋