American slaves or honest hard workers?

OK... This is not an attack on Americans as people...

This is about American corporate philosophies and the acceptance of these philosophies by the general population!!

My wife has a friend who moved to America a couple of years ago. She is working for a law firm and living with her mother (who has American citizenship)

She phoned my wife recently to let her know that she has had a baby... all very nice... The firm that she is working for has given her 12 weeks maternity leave and, apparently, this is standard...

12 WEEKS!!!!!

That means that the baby will be left with a childminder at 3 months old!!!!!

To me this is shocking! In Britain a woman is entitled to 39 weeks paid leave!!

Then there is holidays... in America (I’ve been told) the average holiday entitlement is between 9 and 15 days!!!! Is this true???

Britain’s holiday entitlement is a minimum of 28 days for someone working normal 9-5 shift. In my last job i got 30 days plus Christmas and bank holidays!!!


What is even more shocking to me is the attitude of Americans to this. I have worked, and been friends with, many Americans over the years and most of them have had an attitude of “you Brits are soft” and “we don’t need pampering we work hard and play hard”
Now i except that most of the time this is tongue in cheek bravado... But come on America... Shouldn’t you be screaming for rights like these???

Same with this issue over health care... I am not going to pretend that i understand it all... But one of the things i have seen from some Americans is this finger pointing at British health care and the criticism of the “socialist style” NHS!!
OK... The NHS is not the best in the world... But people don’t get kicked out of hospital for not having health insurance... Kids Britain don’t die of Toothache!!

www.washingtonpost.com...

I am not a socialist, nor i am a capitalist, there are certain qualities of both that i feel can be used and incorporated into any society to make it fair and just. However, the average American seems to get agitated at the very word socialism!!
Is this a remnant of the 1950’s communism witch-hunts? Or is it due to corporate brain washing that makes people value material wealth over that of time with your family’s... Seriously, think about this...

When you are dying who is going to be at your death Bed?
Do you think Bob from accounts, your Boss or your secretary will be there weeping? Do you think that the sales person, who sold you the sit on lawn mower (that you hardly got to use due working so hard) will be there? Or the manager of Star Bucks, who help raise your blood pressure that contributed to your death?

No!!!

It will be your Wife/Husband... Kids/Grandkids... Brothers/Sisters!!

These are the people who really care for you... Family.

So... I ask... why does America seem to put such little value on TIME with these people? Time is THE most precious gift that any company can give an employee... I don’t want crappy bonus schemes and share options... i want TIME with my family!!

It sometimes feels that America values money above all else... Glitz and Glamour... hype and BS!!

I would rather live in a tiny house with my wife and kids than a big cold marble mansion alone!!

I know that i will probably be flamed for this... but please try to remember, I am not attacking Americans. I do not write this not out of hatred for America, but out of love for its people!!

And i don’t need responses telling me how crap Britain is... I know Britain’s faults and have already had posts covering that topic... i don’t want this turning into a “My country is better than yours” argument... that’s not what this is about!

But this is now starting to affect us in Britain... with the gradual buying out of British business by American companies, and British companies starting to adopt American business philosophies, we are starting to see the British workers rights and benefits being chipped away!!

Alas, Social Darwinism has hit the British shores!

reply to post by Muckster


What about the other workers in countries like India, China etc ?

Who are the slaves?

Be glad for what you have I say.

Just my 2 cent

Unfortunately it is standard over here. I have been at the same job for 4 years and I get 4 days off paid vacation a year (which i cash in because well I need the money). They do keep me insured though and with a seizure history that is very important. Good post. We definitely have our flaws (drug laws) but we have good things as well. It is culture difference i suppose. Can you answer me something though. I was looking at a linux magazine the other day that I wanted to buy. It was from the U.K. and the thing costed 16 dollars. I know shipping would cost a bit but I was just wondering how much you guys pay for mags over there. I love learning about other cultures so thanks.

[edit on 24-3-2010 by ventian]

reply to post by TheDon


Yep... China and India's working rights is disgusting... probably some the worse conditions on the planet... but this is not a thread about India or China!

To be honest i feel closer to American culture than Chinese or Indian.... I have American Friends, i know people who live in America, I watch American moves and Shop at American Stores... that’s why i have chosen America for this topic!

Not saying i don’t care about China or India... but i do have more of a connection with America and a huge place in my heart for American people!

Originally posted by ventian
Unfortunately it is standard over here. I have been at the same job for 4 years and I get 4 days off paid vacation a year (which i cash in because well I need the money). They do keep me insured though and with a seizure history that is very important. Good post. We definitely have our flaws (drug laws) but we have good things as well. It is culture difference i suppose. Can you answer me something though. I was looking at a linux magazine the other day that I wanted to buy. It was from the U.K. and the thing costed 16 dollars. I know shipping would cost a bit but I was just wondering how much you guys pay for mags over there. I love learning about other cultures so thanks.

[edit on 24-3-2010 by ventian]

I totally agree that America has good things... in fact America has some GREAT things

I really don’t want anyone to think of this as an attack on America... it’s not meant like that!!

I would say that the average mag in Britain varies between 50p - £2 for the cheaper basic chat/gossip mag to £2 - £6 for the more glossy specialist mags

reply to post by Muckster


Cool it is just shipping then. Really wanted that mag but as you can see 16 bucks is a bit much on my budget. Saw a U.S. linux mag but no depth to it. I knew it wasn't a bash America thread, i can smell those. I appreciate any world views as I grew up in a very multicultural neighborhood (most of U.S. is). Always found different cultures and histories to be fascinating. Again good thread.

what always interests me about the American Corporate philosophy, is that it is really based on social Darwinism. For a nation that still has a large % who do not believe in Evolution, it is rather ironic.

I work for a large company in the USA. Our paid holidays are Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. We are allowed two days off per week (Easter is considered Day 2 of our two days off next week). We receive time and a half pay for working on Labor Day, which is not a paid holiday. Workers receive 10 paid vacation days per year until they have worked for the company for over five years, then we are entitled to 15 paid vacation days per year. There are stretches of weeks at a time during the year when we are not allowed to use our vacation days, period. Only certain slack times of the year are vacations allowed and must be requested at least a month in advance.

Many of my co-workers are in it purely for the health insurance coverage because the pay and opportunities for advancement are less than desirable. Many fear changing companies or quitting to start their own because the U.S. economy is extremely unstable and has been so since mid-2007.

There is no union for the kind of work I'm in and in Texas, unions are quite frowned upon.

In the USA, unfortunately, many corporations are strictly managed top down. Imagine the Nazi party wearing business suits instead of military uniforms and sidearms. Workers fear top management in almost the same way the Nazi power structure was feared by the average German under Nazi rule.

Sure, we are free to quit. What then? Who will hire us? Will the new boss be the same as the old, as The Who pointed out?

I believe things are gradually coming to a major turning point in America. When the CEO is paid one thousand times more than his or her workers, well, you can just imagine the disgust. People are already fed up, but what can one do?

In Texas, any company is allowed to sack anyone for any reason. That's the law. Anyone who files an unjust termination lawsuit finds that on top of invariably losing the suit, he will have an extremely difficult time explaining the situation if he is lucky enough to land an interview for another job. He is branded a "troublemaker" for life.

reply to post by switching yard


I'm sorry to hear that... it sounds worse than i realised

Something must be done.... but why do you think it is allowed to happen?

To be honest, most of the Americans that I’ve known are not the sort of people to be walked over... however... in the working world this seems to be exactly what is happening!

I understand that it must be extremely difficult to make a stand when that stand means that your family could end up homeless and hungry!

Honestly, those that suffer the most are the ones with families. Companies know that they pretty much have to keep working. Most families are in debt these days, because the cost of living stays just above what the average person can afford. And if you have a child and you have to put them in daycare, good luck! I pay $530.00 a month for full time daycare in the summer so that I can still go to work.

Yes, hard work is definitely a value that most Americans have, but no matter how hard we work, most people will never make over what the cost of living is.

The reason you feel Americans are slaves, well because you are right. The tax-payer money will go into the pockets of private bankers which the government owes a big debt to. You could give thanks to Woodrow Wilson and his cabinet for that.

Just to reiterate... I am not so much making the statement "Americans are slaves" as asking the question "are Americans slaves?"

Although a recent thread... Starbucks is brainwashing employees! showed me that some people are definitely willing mental slaves to the corporate ideals and will happily swap their human based ethic’s for the financial corporate based ethic’s!!

Very sad!

I guess it all depends on how you were brought up. My mom and dad always worked...either on a farm as children or in a manufacturing plant as adults. I remember my dad, after a week on vacation, was ready to go back to work... that's just how he is...and at 80, he still cuts 2 yards...big yards, and has a huge garden. My mom of 74 still cans and freezes..they both walk 2 miles a day.

Like father, like son... I like vacation, but after about 4-5 days, I am ready to go back to work. Here it is Saturday morning, and when I get through here, I am going out to work on my farm...for fun. Planting corn and beans today, then I go into work and close up the store tonight.

I do these things because I want to...most of the people I know like to stay busy. It's nice to rest and enjoy time off...and we do. But, it is such a part of our culture, that I would get bored or feel guilty if I wasn't accomplishing something.

I mean, my friends and I cut firewood for fun, we are always tinkering with something or building something...thats the American way. On a daily basis, I deal with many retired couples that have decided to move to NC and start a farm...maybe raising goats, alpacas, rabbits, whatever.

We like to work for fun. Further, we have our time with our families... here in the South...other places too...work is followed by family time....working..LOL.

For instance, we would work our gardens and then shell beans or shuck corn and tell stories on the back porch at dusk. Maybe make some homemade ice cream afterwards as night fell. We kill hogs and butcher them and it is a social occassion.. almost a family reunion as we all get together and work and laugh and tell stories...then we cook some of the sausage to see if it is seasoned right, and after the meat is finished and packed, we share a meal together...that is th only life I know and one I treasure... frankly, in my family, sitting around for too long is frowned upon as being lazy.