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Monday, May 2nd, 2022

America Gave Up on Overtime—and It’s Costing Workers $35,451 a Year

Author:     NICK HANAUER
Source:     Time Magazine
Publication Date:     APRIL 21, 2022 | 11:55 AM EDT
 Link: America Gave Up on Overtime—and It’s Costing Workers $35,451 a Year
Stephan:   The wealth inequality in America grows greater every year. A handful of the rich have seen their wealth increase by trillions of dollars who the middle class and the poor have seen their financial status become ever more stressful. Here is part of the explanation of why this is happening.
Union organizer Christian Smalls speaks following the April 1, 2022, vote for the unionization of the Amazon Staten Island warehouse in New York. – Amazon workers in New York voted establish the first US union at the e-commerce giant, a milestone for a company that has steadfastly opposed organized labor in its massive workforce.
 Cedit: Andrea Renault / AFP

If it feels like you’re working longer hours for less money than your parents or grandparents did, it’s because you probably are. Adjusted for inflation, average hourly wages have actually fallen since the early 1970s, while average hours worked have steadily climbed. American workers are increasingly underpaid, overworked, and overwhelmed.

What went wrong? In part, overtime pay.

If you’re under the age of 45, you may have no idea that overtime pay is even a thing. But believe it or not, middle-class workers used to get a lot of it, while you likely don’t get any at all. That means that every hour you work over 40 hours a week you work for free, contributing to a giant pool of free labor that modern […]

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