(Jewish Daily Bulletin)
Five trade unions are giving the five day week a trial here as a result of the shorter week sponsored by the American Federation of Labor, which would eliminate Saturday as a day of work.
This became known when it was announced that the Wardman Construction Company, generally considered the largest construction enterprise in Washington, has approved the idea. The Wardman Construction Company, which is a non-Jewish enterprise, is engaged among other projects in erecting the new British Embassy on Massachusetts Avenue, where the new policy will be applied.
Through voluntary arrangments between contractors and workers, many steamfitters, electricians, lathers, iron-workers and plasterers now employed on a number of large construction jobs are working under the five-day system, it was learned. If the trial is successful the trade unions plan to extend the practice through amicable negotiations with the constructors.
“The five-days week has got to come and I always have favored it,” Harry Wardman, head of the Wardman company, said. He added that the sooner the change to the short week is made general, the better it will be for everyone concerned.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
