32-hour work week gaining interest among members

“What would you do with an extra eight hours every week?” Local 901 President Barbara Monaco and Local 601’s Andrew Ulasich ask members who attend information sessions about the 32-hour work week campaign. So far, hundreds of members across the state have participated in the sessions and more than 1,500 have signed a letter of support urging contract negotiators to prioritize the 32-hour work week.  

Ulasich, who began working in the energy division at the Commerce Department last year, said talk of the 32-hour work week “bubbled up organically” at MAPE. 

In the last century, worker productivity has increased by 400% yet workers have benefitted from few of those gains. Labor unions have always championed the cause for workers to be productive and have more time to thrive. MAPE members across the state have been researching the 80-100-100 model: 80% of the time, 100% salary, 100% productivity. 

Ulasich first became interested in the 32-hour work week during the pandemic when he was working from home. “We were raising a young child, and all parents were suffering because work bled into all of life when working from home. The reality of teleworking took over our lives. It made me and others realize we could think about our time differently and came to see our time as a fundamental right.  

“At the same time, news stories started popping up about hundreds of companies around the world experimenting with 32-hour work week pilots. Employers found that they increased their bottom lines, employee productivity and their recruitment and retention rates,” Ulasich said.    

A recent four-day work week pilot program at over 60 companies in the United Kingdom showed that workers were more productive – over 70 percent of workers reported greater satisfaction with their time and feeling less burnt out, while participating businesses saw a 35 percent average increase in revenue.  

In a separate pilot program of more than 40 companies in the United States and Canada, workers reported similarly positive results and none of the participating companies expressed a desire to return to a five-day work week. These studies have also found reduced work weeks result in lower childcare costs and reduced carbon emissions.  

Some of the companies and public service employees in the United States engaged in 32-hour work weeks include a police department in Colorado, senior care workers in Wisconsin, manufacturers in Ohio and county workers in Washington.  

Monaco, a data analyst who supports the health regulation division at the Minnesota Department of Health, said she tried to drop some of her hours and was told she could not. “I wanted to do this because I have elderly parents and friends who could use a hand. It makes the 32-hour work week a worthwhile effort,” Monaco said. “We could all use more time and this will benefit all who come behind us,” Monaco said.    

“We have a competitive job market here. The state of Minnesota wants to retain people and attract the best talent, and with Gen Z and millennials looking at work differently than previous generations, this could truly differentiate between who gets the best people,” she added. 

More information about the 32-hour Work Week campaign. Members are welcome to join the campaign’s Organizing Summit this Saturday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in Roseville. Register here