Editors note: An earlier release today listed an incorrect office phone number for Steven Deutsch. The correct number is (541) 346-2793. Please discard the earlier release. We apologize for any inconvenience. Deutsch is available for interviews Thursday, Sept. 3, through Sunday, Sept. 6. Hallock is available Sunday, Sept. 6, and Monday, Sept. 7.

"Millions of American workers feel they are working too much," says Margaret Hallock, director of the University of Oregon Labor Education and Research Center. "Look at the recent strikes at AT&T, General Motors and United Parcel Service, where forced overtime was as much an issue as salaries. I think it is significant that the public supported the strikers’ efforts to cut back on forced overtime." UO professor Steven Deutsch, a labor sociologist, agrees. "There’s a cultural shift underway in this country," he says. "Dual-earner families are now the norm. They can’t work 60 to 70 hours a week and deal with family issues." Deutsch says the average American worked only 40 hours a week at the start of World War II, dropping from a historic average of 70 hours a week. Now, employers are fending off international competition and trying to reduce costs by reshaping their work force into lean, mean machines which are inherently unfriendly to families. "Workers are getting burned out. This is going to be a big issue for some time to come," Deutsch says. SOURCES: Margaret Hallock, director, UO Labor Education and Research Center, (541) 688-4762 (home); e-mail <hallock@
oregon.uoregon.edu> and Steven Deutsch, professor, UO Labor Education and Research Center, (541) 346-2793 (work), (541) 342-6245 (home); e-mail <sdeutsch@oregon.uoregon.edu>.

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