In Philadelphia, the Fight For a Fair Workweek
In the City of Brotherly Love, the fight is on for a fair workweek for all non-salaried employees. According to NBC 10: “On Thursday, Philadelphia City Councilwoman Helen Gym introduced legislation to curb some of this uncertainty. The fair workweek ordinance would require a reasonable notice of schedules, at least 11 hours rest time between shifts, opportunities to work additional hours and provide for enforcement and penalties if an employer does not comply.”
“Today is about not looking the other way,” Gym said. “This bill is about standards of dignity.”
Currently, the estimated 130,000 service workers in Philadelphia (about a quarter of which work part-time) face great uncertainty in their work schedules, which vary from week to week and greatly from season to season. Some employees who depend on having 40 hours a week have their hours cut, and can no longer afford rent and food for their families.
Gym’s bill has seven co-sponsors: Democratic councilmembers Maria D. Quiñones-Sánchez (7th District), Mark Squilla (1st District), Bill Greenlee (At Large), Bobby Henon (6th District), Jannie Blackwell (3rd District), Curtis Jones (4th District) and Kenyatta Johnson (2nd District).
A fair workweek is good for companies, too. Per NBC: “One such study conducted by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley examined hourly employees at Gap clothing stores in Chicago and the Bay Area. The study randomly assigned two-thirds of stores to consistent schedules and one-third of stores to their regularly shifting schedules. Researchers concluded that sales were higher at stores where shifts largely remained stable from week to week.”
This is just the latest bill concerning workplace parity to be attempted in Philadelphia. The city has already passed legislation regarding a fair minimum hourly wage (of $12 per hour) and mandatory sick-leave.
Seattle, New York City, San Francisco, and the entire state of Oregon already have laws demanding fair workweeks for employees.
