People for a Shorter Workweek supports the national vacation campaign. Join John de Graaf, author and Executive Director of Take Back Your Time for this important conference in Seattle in August. Details are as follows and the link is above for further information:
Mark the dates and make your reservation now for the NATIONAL VACATION MATTERS SUMMIT, Monday, August 10 - Wednesday August 12, 2009 at Seattle University, Seattle, Washington.
Space is limited. Register before May 1 for a total registration fee of $95, and $45 for students. Media passes available (email jodg@comcast.net).
If spaces still remain after May 1, registration fees will increase to $125 and $65.
Tickets are available from Brown Paper Tickets.
You are also welcome to register directly with TAKE BACK YOUR TIME. Simply send a check payable to TBYT/VACATION SUMMIT to:
Take Back Your Time
PO Box 18652
Seattle, WA 98109
Add your email address for confirmation. Otherwise, we will have a name tag and conference materials waiting for you at the registration desk at the beginning of the Summit.
WHY THIS CONFERENCE? WHY NOW?
Studies show that vacations are essential to physical and mental health. They provide the strongest of family-bonding memories. They improve workplace productivity and prevent burnout. They increase international contact and understanding. They offer opportunities for spiritual growth and joyful play. They provide employment and business opportunities in the travel industry. But the United States is the only industrial country that does not guarantees some vacation time by law and Americans get less vacation time than people in almost any other country of the world.
Times of economic crisis like the one we face today are also opportunities to envision the kind of economy and life we really want and to ask what really matters when it comes to quality of life. Just as the Great Depression led to the forty-hour week and the expansion of the middle class, these new hard times can lead us to new choices that honor the need for balance and leisure in our lives.
The Vacation Matters Summit is about learning and sharing what we know about the value of leisure travel and vacation time. We’ll be bringing together more than three hundred experts, researchers, advocates, stakeholders and interested citizens for the first-ever national gathering about the importance of vacation time. The program starts Monday evening with a welcome and reception and continues until early Wednesday afternoon. It includes eight plenary speakers and at least fifty workshop presenters.
We are still looking for workshop presenters and will be accepting proposals. Let me know if you are interested in presenting and I will forward the information to our workshop committee. Registration fee for presenters will be $25.
ACCOMMODATIONS AND FOOD
Please let us know whether you will need meals and accommodations while in Seattle. Seattle University offers single and double rooms in both residence halls and residence suites at modest prices ranging from $26 to $55 a night. Email John de Graaf at: jodg@comcast.net
Residence halls—1 person in room: $31 per night; 2 persons in room: $26 each per night
Residence suites—1 person in room: $55 per night; 2 persons in room: $43 each per night
There are also a number of hotels in the immediate area.
Seattle University also offers a meal plan at $30 per day or you may purchase food in the dining area separately. There are also many restaurants in the area.
Please let us know your preferences. Space at Seattle University is limited and first-come, first serve.
Total conference costs including lodging, food and registration (but not travel costs) ranges from approximately $137 (presenters in residence halls) to $265 (non-
presenters in single room residence suites).
Summit begins at 6 pm Monday, August 10 and ends at 2 pm, Wednesday, August 12.
Showing posts with label vacation law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation law. Show all posts
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Friday, July 04, 2008
PSW Supports Vacation Law
PSW supports a three-week paid vacation law for all Americans. Since a shorter workweek is difficult to get (for most people) unless you work part-time, we need to work on getting a decent vacation for Americans. Most Europeans get 4-6 weeks off a year, and when you think about it, getting a mere one or two weeks off a year out of 52 is just a drop in the bucket.
I am asking everyone to visit the new web site, www.right2vacation.org, and support this organization. And while you are there, you can thank John de Graaf and Joe Robinson for all their work so that we can have more leisure time! Don't forget to tell all your friends.
I have heard more horror stories of people whose health suffered because they worked too much, and even worse, those who have died either right after retirement or at a young age.
Even if you don't have the funds to go anwhere (due to high gas prices and/or low income), you can take a vacation right in your own home by turning off the TV, cell phone, and other electronic devices and letting the answering machine get your phone messages. Then, get a chair, grab a book, fix yourself a tall glass of ice tea, and go out in your back yard (weather permitting) and R-E-L-A-X. Go to your local museum, take a walk in a park. bike to your local tea or coffee shop, relax in a library, etc. Most people don't have time to do these things during a regular workweek.
Your help is needed! Support a vacation law for all Americans!
www.right2vacation.org
I am asking everyone to visit the new web site, www.right2vacation.org, and support this organization. And while you are there, you can thank John de Graaf and Joe Robinson for all their work so that we can have more leisure time! Don't forget to tell all your friends.
I have heard more horror stories of people whose health suffered because they worked too much, and even worse, those who have died either right after retirement or at a young age.
Even if you don't have the funds to go anwhere (due to high gas prices and/or low income), you can take a vacation right in your own home by turning off the TV, cell phone, and other electronic devices and letting the answering machine get your phone messages. Then, get a chair, grab a book, fix yourself a tall glass of ice tea, and go out in your back yard (weather permitting) and R-E-L-A-X. Go to your local museum, take a walk in a park. bike to your local tea or coffee shop, relax in a library, etc. Most people don't have time to do these things during a regular workweek.
Your help is needed! Support a vacation law for all Americans!
www.right2vacation.org
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Take Back Your Time
The TAKE BACK YOUR TIME March 2008 newsletter is now on the TBYT web site at
http://timeday.org/news_March2008.asp
From their web site:
I think you’ll find a lot of interesting material in newest issue. Good news on Family Leave from New Jersey. A thoughtful article on the impact of Paid Family Leave on Children’s Health in different countries by our new board member Anmarie Widener. A review of an important new book, THE LEISURE ECONOMY by Linda Nazareth. A letter from newsletter editor Kelley Smith on how this year’s flu season shows we need paid sick leave. A fine essay on “Natural Time,” by Matt Zeufle.
You’ll also find an update on our campaign for a paid vacation bill, including an invitation to help plan and build a National VACATION MATTTERS Summit for the spring of 2009.
NOTE: People for a Shorter Workweek supports Take Back Your Time Day.
http://timeday.org/news_March2008.asp
From their web site:
I think you’ll find a lot of interesting material in newest issue. Good news on Family Leave from New Jersey. A thoughtful article on the impact of Paid Family Leave on Children’s Health in different countries by our new board member Anmarie Widener. A review of an important new book, THE LEISURE ECONOMY by Linda Nazareth. A letter from newsletter editor Kelley Smith on how this year’s flu season shows we need paid sick leave. A fine essay on “Natural Time,” by Matt Zeufle.
You’ll also find an update on our campaign for a paid vacation bill, including an invitation to help plan and build a National VACATION MATTTERS Summit for the spring of 2009.
NOTE: People for a Shorter Workweek supports Take Back Your Time Day.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Definition of Shorter Workweek
Some people believe that 4 ten-hour days with Fridays off is a shorter workweek. This is incorrect. The standard in the United States is 40 hours per week. It could be 5 days (8 hours per day), 4 days (10 hours per day) or the alternate 9 schedule. Any way you look at it, 40 hours per week is NOT a shorter workweek.. A shorter workweek is a workweek UNDER 40 hours, which is what People for a Shorter Workweek promotes.
The problem with trying to compress the workweek into four days is working 10 hours per day is too long. Also, many companies that offer this compressed workweek only give a 30-minute lunch break, which is hardly enough time to recuperate after working five hours. The 10 hour per day schedule means a person is away from their home 12-14 hours. Even the alternate 9 schedule is a long day for most people (having every other Friday off).
A more sane schedule is 32 hours per week (four 8 hour days), allowing employees three days off. Since most people can't get their errands done during the week, they must do them on weekends. Running errands is work. People need time to relax and only having one day off isn't enough (when you are using the other day to run errands).
If we can't get a shorter workweek, let's at least work on getting more vacation time in the US. Unlike Europe, the US does not have a vacation law, so most Americans might get one or two weeks vacation per year, and because of layoffs and mergers, many people have lost their 4-5 week vacations.
ORGANIZATIONS WORKING ON SHORTER WORKWEEK/MORE VACATION TIME:
The Work Less Party of Canada promotes a 4-day, 32-hour workweek.
The Five Day Weekend group from Asheville, NC promotes a 2-day workweek.
Take Back Your Time has launched a campaign for a vacation law in the US!
If you are interested in getting your life back and having more time off, please support these organizations! The links to these sites are on the left side of this blog.
The problem with trying to compress the workweek into four days is working 10 hours per day is too long. Also, many companies that offer this compressed workweek only give a 30-minute lunch break, which is hardly enough time to recuperate after working five hours. The 10 hour per day schedule means a person is away from their home 12-14 hours. Even the alternate 9 schedule is a long day for most people (having every other Friday off).
A more sane schedule is 32 hours per week (four 8 hour days), allowing employees three days off. Since most people can't get their errands done during the week, they must do them on weekends. Running errands is work. People need time to relax and only having one day off isn't enough (when you are using the other day to run errands).
If we can't get a shorter workweek, let's at least work on getting more vacation time in the US. Unlike Europe, the US does not have a vacation law, so most Americans might get one or two weeks vacation per year, and because of layoffs and mergers, many people have lost their 4-5 week vacations.
ORGANIZATIONS WORKING ON SHORTER WORKWEEK/MORE VACATION TIME:
The Work Less Party of Canada promotes a 4-day, 32-hour workweek.
The Five Day Weekend group from Asheville, NC promotes a 2-day workweek.
Take Back Your Time has launched a campaign for a vacation law in the US!
If you are interested in getting your life back and having more time off, please support these organizations! The links to these sites are on the left side of this blog.
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