by DC Jobs with Justice | Jan 15, 2016 | Campaigns
On January 13, members of the coalition for Just Hours testified at a DC city council hearing in favor of the Hours and Scheduling Stability Act, spearheaded by D.C. Jobs With Justice and introduced by Councilmember Vincent Orange. The proposed rules would usher in more predictable schedules and stable employment opportunities for people working in the District’s retail and restaurant chains. While a national trend of minimum wage increases continues, the demand for ending erratic work schedules to ensure more sustainable jobs is growing. According to a recent poll, a wide majority of D.C. residents say they support the measures included in the legislation. Some 86 percent of D.C. residents say they would support a law that would mandate stable hours and predictable work schedules from employers. Additionally, 87 percent of those surveyed say they would support rules that would require two weeks’ advance notice of work schedules, and 88 percent say they would support rules that would require large corporate chain stores and restaurants to first offer additional work hours to their part-time employees before hiring new employees. RasImani Diggs, an employee at a Marshall’s store in Ward 1 in the District, testified about the challenges she faces with inconvenient and ever-changing schedules: “They post a schedule a day or two before the week starts, but it can change at any time. I have to try to call in or take metro from Kenilworth on a day I don’t even work just to check my schedule and see if it’s changed. I can’t plan anything in my life. With a second job and trying to help my family, if...
