Another Maryland municipality may be moving to a four-day workweek.
Baltimore City Councilwoman Belinda Conaway is planning to introduce a resolution at the council?s next meeting calling for a four-day workweek for city employees.
“If the city went to a four-day workweek for nonessential employees it would save a lot of heating and cooling costs as well as electricity charges,” Conaway said in a written statement.
The four-day workweek would allow all non-emergency personnel to work four 10-hour days instead of five eight-hour days.
Firefighters and police officers would not be eligible.
“This resolution is recognizing that energy costs may have risen permanently and may continue to increase. Technology enables many people to work from home and it makes good sense for city government to take advantage of the fact,” Conaway, D-District 7, said in her statement.
Last week, Howard County adopted a four-day workweek for nonessential employees
in response to higher energy costs.
Sterling Clifford, spokesman for Mayor Sheila Dixon, said the administration has not yet seen Conaway?s proposal.
“To my knowledge, no one has looked at it.”
Other council members said the idea was worth exploring.
“I would keep an open mind, for sure; it could be done on trial basis, perhaps,” said Councilman Robert Curran, D-District 3.
Union officials who represent city workers said they wanted to study the effect of four-day workweeks on employees before embracing the idea.
“I?m not saying it?s a good thing or a bad thing, but let?s have some studies done first,” said Glenn Middleton, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 44, a union that represents 4,000 city workers.
“Let?s remember this would represent a work rule change for city employees, which must be negotiated as part of their contract. They have to come through us.”
