Right now, this afternoon, Friday February 22nd and into the weekend and early next week, Unions including Teamsters Local #38, UFCW Local #21, the Washington State Labor Council, and Working Washington, Mom's Rising, United 4 Respect and other coalitions are working very hard to contact as many retail and hospitality working people in Washington to send letters to their Legislators (both Senators and Representatives) urging them to pass a Secure Scheduling Bill.  Currently, the wording of the Bill has morphed into one that we won't accept, as it excludes 30 counties in our state, the most rural ones that surround the big 6 in the middle.  This means that the Bill would only cover "some" of Washington's workers.  That is not right!  We are united in this fight, there are grocery store workers all over this state that deserve the same protected scheduling practices and if they are not considered, we will continue to fight.

Our time counts—at work and away from it

Workers support ‘secure scheduling’ at House hearing

This is the latest edition of the weekly Legislative Update newsletter from the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. If you didn’t receive it via email, subscribe to The Stand and you’ll get the Legislative Updates and all of the WSLC’s other legislative reports.

OLYMPIA (Feb. 8, 2019) — “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” — United States Declaration of Independence, 1776

“What the woman who labors wants is the right to live, not simply exist — the right to life as the rich woman has the right to life, and the sun and music and art. You have nothing that the humblest worker has not a right to have also. The worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too.” — Rose Schneiderman of the New York Women’s Trade Union League, 1912

Workers are people.

We have lives away from work. We want to spend time with — and take care of — our families. We want to earn a fair wage, but we want roses, too. We want to pursue happiness. That is our right.

But that right is denied when businesses force employees to be on call, report to work with little or no notice, or work the dreaded “clopen” (working the closing shift one night then an opening shift the next morning). That right is also denied when employees are denied work hours they need to support themselves and their families because their boss wants to cut costs by hiring additional part-timers rather than offer more hours to existing employees.

Put simply: we should have the right to know when we’re going to work, and how many hours we’re going to be there so we can manage our lives.

That’s the principle behind HB 1491, sponsored by Rep. Nicole Macri (D-Seattle), which was heard Tuesday in the House Labor & Workforce Standards Committee. This bill is a statewide “secure scheduling” proposal that would provide workers advance notice of schedules, access to additional hours, expanded flexibility, and more balanced lives. Modeled after a standard recently approved in the City of Seattle, this bill would ensure people who work for large fast-food, coffee, restaurant and retail chains in Washington state get balanced, flexible schedules that include:

• Two weeks’ notice of shift schedules
• Access to additional hours for current employees before new jobs are posted
• Input into work schedules, and more flexibility to accommodate caregiving, schooling, and other major life needs
• No mandatory clopening shifts

Several workers testified Tuesday about the challenges they face arranging for child care, paying their bills, and just living their lives because of unpredictable work schedules.

“The biggest issue I face are the hours and schedule that varies so much from week to week that my paychecks are completely unpredictable, which makes it hard to pay the rent,” said Randy Hoggarth, a Safeway employee and member of UFCW 21. “One week I work 24 hours. The next week I work 40 hours… If I had a schedule that was more predictable, I’d have a better sense of what my income would be on a regular basis.”

“I was compelled to sponsor this bill after hearing from employees in my district and across the state about the growing challenges that people have in balancing their work lives with the growing stresses of personal life — taking care of kids, taking care of aging parents, often juggling multiple jobs to put food on the table and pay the rent,” Macri said at Tuesday’s hearing. “This bill aims to have us think about work in a different way — respecting not only the value of people’s time when they are on the job, but also the value of their time when they are away from work.”

SB 5717, the companion bill sponsored by Sen. Rebecca Saldana (D-Seattle), will get a public hearing at 10 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 11 in the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee.

Please take 5 minutes of your time to click on this link to let YOUR Legislators know how important this is.  Like when Initiative 1433 passed, for raising the minimum wage and giving our workers first day safe and sick leave, with the help of our unions and union lobbyists you can make a historical difference in helping Washington State be the best place in the Country to work!

https://secure.everyaction.com/TA2xed1Wp0qLSL9aJ73gDA2

EXCLUDED  (this is for workers in 30 rural counties in our state, the list is here:  

https://www.ofm.wa.gov/washington-data-research/population-demographics/population-estimates/population-density/population-density-and-land-area-criteria-used-rural-area-assistance-and-other-programs )

I am writing to urge you to support STATEWIDE Secure Scheduling. The current amendment to the policy in the House would exclude me from being covered, simply because of where I live. This is both unfair and unnecessary.

As a retail worker some of the challenges I face are not getting enough advanced notice of what my work schedule is going to be, short notice changes to my schedule, and trouble getting access to full time hours. These challenges make it hard to uphold my commitments outside of work such as planning a budget, spending time with my family, or simply having a life. 

These challenges that come with an unpredictable schedule aren’t unique to big cities. Why do I deserve fewer protections than someone working for my same employer in a different zip code?

Passing a statewide secure scheduling law would help me have a better work/life balance.

Please pass a version of HB 1491/SB 5717 that covers ALL of Washington, so I can have a schedule I can count on.

COVERED (suggestions for people who are covered by this Bill, such as all of Snohomish County) !

I am writing to urge you to support STATEWIDE secure scheduling. Workers deserve to have a reliable and predictable schedule regardless of what county they live in.

As a retail worker some of the challenges I face are not getting enough advanced notice of what my work schedule is going to be, short notice changes to my schedule, and trouble getting access to full time hours. These challenges make it hard to uphold my commitments outside of work such as planning a budget, spending time with my family, or simply having a life. 

Passing a statewide secure scheduling law would help me have a better work/life balance, this is a protection that should extent to all counties, not just a select few.

Please pass a version of HB 1491/SB 5717 that covers ALL of Washington, so I can have a schedule I can count on.

https://secure.everyaction.com/TA2xed1Wp0qLSL9aJ73gDA2