Working world believe-it-or-not
Labor Notes/CALM
WHEN THE Rite-Aid drug store in Ronkonkoma, New York, cut the hours of its pharmacy employees, the four members of the 1199/National Health and Human Services Union showed up at their old work hours anyway. They sat in the pharmacy's waiting area, telling customers waiting in long lines why they couldn't help them and encouraging customers to complain to the management. Within a few weeks, the four were back on their old shifts.
ACCORDING TO the Journal of Commerce, the trucking industry thinks it can reduce the problem of driver fatigue by increasing the number of hours drivers are allowed to spend behind the wheel. Current federal regulations limit truck drivers to 10 consecutive hours work, and no more than 70 hours in eight days. One proposal would allow 14 consecutive work hours and up to 100 hours in eight days. Employers also want to increase hours, the Journal reported, because of a nationwide shortage of drivers and because of shippers' demands for "just-in-time" deliveries. An employer spokesperson said the current system creates fatigue and that the greater the "flexibility" of longer hours will "increase the ability to sleep."