On-call scheduling is one of the worst common and legal abuses inflicted on service workers that non-service workers may know nothing about. The practice, in which bosses don't give workers set schedules but force them to be available at the drop of a hat, can make it virtually impossible to hold a second job; hugely complicates childcare arrangements for workers who are parents; and means that workers don't know what their income will be week to week. Laws to curb the worst scheduling abuses have started to gain some momentum, but they’re still rare.
Philadelphia, though, may become the next city to pass a fair workweek bill, with a measure introduced by Councilmember Helen Gym scheduled for Dec. 6 city council vote:
The bill requires eligible employers to start giving their employees a good-faith estimate of their work schedule when they’re hired. That doesn’t have to be a precise weekly schedule, but it must include things like the average number of work hours employees will be scheduled on each week, whether they’ll be needed for on-call shifts, and times they can and cannot be expected to work. Starting in 2020, eligible employers will also have to post detailed work schedules 10 days in advance; that time frame changes to 14 days in 2021. If hours aren’t included in the designated work schedule, employees can decline to work them.
What gives Philly’s bill teeth is that, if employers change the posted work schedule after that 10 or 14 day limit, they’ll also have to pay the employee a “predictability pay” fee, in addition to the employee’s hourly wage for the hours in question.
Philadelphia would join New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, San Jose, and Emeryville, California, as well as the state of Oregon in having a fair workweek law.
● Marriott workers in Hawaii have reached a deal and ended their strike.
● The surprisingly high number of Americans getting absolutely no raises.
● There are workers who have to carry knives for their jobs. Manhattan prosecutes them for that.
● The legacy of welfare reform:
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant is designed to provide temporary financial assistance to poor families, primarily those with no other means to meet basic needs. But since TANF’s creation in 1996, its reach has declined dramatically. In 2017, for every 100 families in poverty, only 23 received direct financial assistance from TANF — down from 68 families in 1996. This “TANF-to-poverty ratio” (TPR) reached its lowest point in 2014 and has remained there.
Some policymakers have pointed to TANF as a model for other programs — most recently, proponents of taking away SNAP (formerly food stamp) benefits, Medicaid coverage, or housing assistance from people who don’t meet rigid work requirements. But states’ experience with TANF shows why it should not be held up as a model.
● Why you should stand with L.A. teachers.
● UAW sells out graduate workers at Columbia University with no-strike pledge.
● Teachers don’t just spend their own money on classroom supplies. In poor areas, they often provide food for students as well—something the West Virginia teachers strike highlighted.
● My hometown newspaper is unionizing:
● Nearby, a casino is trying to defeat a union drive by security guards.
● On Twitter and interested in labor news? Follow @blogwood.
