State workers should embrace the 40-hour week

There it was again Thursday, in the second paragraph of Gov. Bruce Rauner's statement in response to the passage of a strike authorization vote by members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union that represents nearly 40,000 state employees:

"AFSCME leaders would rather strike than work 40 hours a week before earning overtime," said the statement. "They want to earn overtime after working just 37.5 hours per week."

This echoed a complaint Rauner has raised seemingly every time the subject turns to his lengthy standoff with the union — in his recent State of the State and budget addresses, for example, and during his recent appearance before the Tribune Editorial Board.

"What a shocking idea," he quipped to reporters last November. "Instead of a workweek of 37.5 hours, let's do what every taxpayer has, a 40-hour workweek. How about that?"

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/zorn/ct-afscme-strike-work-hours-rauner-perspec-0224-20170223-column.html