First Draft - May.27 2:50 PM ET By Alan Rappeport http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/05/27/bernie-sanders-suggests-more-time-off-for-workers/
Bernie Sanders Suggests More Time Off for Workers <http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/05/27/bernie-sanders-suggests-more-time-off-for-workers/> As Senator Bernie Sanders kicked off his presidential campaign in Vermont on Tuesday afternoon, he told Americans something everyone wants to hear as the summer heat sets in: take more time off. “We need paid sick leave and guaranteed vacation time for all,” said Mr. Sanders <https://berniesanders.com/news/bernies-announcement/>, an independent who is challenging Hillary Rodham Clinton the Democratic nomination. For Mr. Sanders, the proposal fits into his socialist-style platform of making tuition at public universities free and increasing the minimum wage. Mr. Sanders has long applauded the European system where people in countries such as Denmark and Finland receive at least a month of paid vacation. “People are under stress, they’re exhausted,”Mr. Sanders said during a recent interview with Bill Maher <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RclxZL9DoaM> on HBO. “We should begin to look at other countries in Europe where people get by law five or six weeks vacation.” According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research <http://www.cepr.net/documents/no-vacation-update-2014-04.pdf>, the United States is the only advanced economy in the world that does not guarantee workers paid vacation and that nearly a quarter of Americans receive no paid time off. Some economists think raising paid vacation time would help employment byincreasing demand for workers <https://twitter.com/deanbaker13/status/539815128045486080>, but Mr. Sanders’s idea will surely rankle businesses that worry about being short-handed. If Mr. Sanders’s long shot bid for the White House catches on, he will most likely use his influence to help implement a more European holiday system. As he said in 2008, when the Finnish ambassador visited him in Vermont: “As part of a very competitive economy and strong middle class, Finnish workers receive a minimum of 30 days paid vacation.” === Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org [email protected] (202) 448-2898 x1
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