Bondage

You work 16 hours and what do you get?
Wretched health coverage and deeper in debt!
Saint Peter don'tcha call me 'Cause-
I can't go...I owe my soul to WalMart Co.

Apologies to Tennessee Ernie Tuxedo Ford.

If one had to think of an American Company that would insist on treating its workers like chattel, one used to guess the mining companies. But they had John L. Lewis and a strong Union to deal with. Now, we have WalMart, which can propose things like this and knowing they can get away with virtually anything.

Wal-Mart and other retailers are lobbying Congress to extend the workday for truckers to 16 hours, something labor unions and safety advocates say would make roadways more dangerous for all drivers.

Rep. John Boozman, an Arkansas Republican whose district includes Wal-Mart's headquarters in Bentonville, is sponsoring a bill that would allow a 16-hour workday as long as the trucker took an unpaid two-hour break. The proposal is expected to be offered as an amendment during debate over the highway spending bill on Wednesday.

...

Critics of the proposal accuse Wal-Mart of trying to fatten its profits by forcing truckers to spend more time waiting at the loading dock without getting paid.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters "hasn't gotten one complaint from drivers saying they don't have time for a break or a meal," the union's vice president, John Murphy, said at a news conference Tuesday.

Joan Claybrook, president of the safety advocacy group Public Citizen, said drivers could end up starting their workday at 8 a.m. and quitting at midnight.

"This is a sweatshop-on-wheels amendment," Claybrook said. "The last thing we need is for tired truckers to become even more fatigued and threaten the safety of those around them on the roads."

The current rule had been struck down in federal court because it didn't take into account truck drivers' health. In October, Congress reinstated the rule for one year. If the Boozman proposal is adopted, it would retain the 16-hour workday regardless of any new rule.

Lousy Health Care, Permanent poverty via new bankruptcy laws, and shitty retirement due to Social Security privatization.

Wake up Middle Class!