Labor: Toward the Four-Day Week

Proposals for a four-day working week have a familiar ring, but last week shorter hours for the same pay became a more likely prospect for the 1970s. I. W. Abel, president of the United Steelworkers of America, served notice that the shorter week will top the list of his union’s demands in 1971 contract negotiations. The 32-hour week, he said, would create more jobs and improve productivity by reducing fatigue.