The lobby group for chain restaurants and hotels is pretending to represent a group of workers, but in fact they’re fronting a $499 stock photo titled “Full length portrait of a diverse group of business professionals”. Maybe that’s because actual workers actually want secure scheduling?
Read MoreWe're speaking out about our work schedules... and the State Legislature is paying attention
"We get our schedule four days in advance, on Thursday night for the Monday following. Childcare is a huge issue. I have to scramble on Thursday night to make sure my children are taken care of." — Misty Brown, an Olive Garden worker in Olympia
Read More#OurTimeCounts — A live conversation about our work schedules — and our lives
Are you working tonight? If not — and especially if you don't know yet — you should join us right here for #OurTimeCounts. It's a live conversation about fluctuating hours, last-minute call-ins, clopening shifts, and other ways unstable & unpredictable schedules affect our lives — and what we can do to fix it!
Read More#OurTimeCounts: A live conversation about our work schedules — and our lives
Have you worked in retail, food, or coffee?Then you’re invited to join us on Wednesday, September 12th for a live conversation about fluctuating hours, last-minute call-ins, clopening shifts, and other ways unstable & unpredictable schedules affect our lives — and what we can do to make our work schedules better!
Read Moreit meant moving up to full-time hours
Some people had other full-time jobs, so they were scheduled on the weekends. A couple other people were offered at least 25 hours/week. And for me and a couple other coworkers, it meant moving up to full-time hours. One of my coworkers had been working three different jobs before secure scheduling, and afterwards she was finally able to get a steady 40-hour schedule, so she was able to quit her other two jobs, which was a huge relief for her.
Read Morejoin the party
As workers, we all need schedules that are flexible and predictable enough for us to live our lives. That could mean the freedom to go to school or spend time with our families. It could mean the stability of getting enough hours to pay the rent. It could mean being able to plan ahead so we can make time for the things that matter to us outside of work — whether it's volunteering, making art, or just celebrating special occasions like a birthday or an anniversary.
And if you're going to plan some time to celebrate an anniversary, today isn't a bad day to do it, because it's a big one. A year ago today, Seattle's secure scheduling law went into effect — and tens of thousands of food, coffee, and retail workers started seeing some major changes in their schedules at work and their lives.
Click here to celebrate with us!
So celebrate with us by reading what the workers who won secure scheduling have to say about what the last year has been like for them…
If you think more secure schedules are a cause for celebration, click here to join the party!
Let us know if you're a worker who has seen improvements in scheduling at work since last July — or if there are changes you want to see.
It's clear that when workers come together and fight for change, we can do big things. What can we do by this time next year?
Happy anniversary!
a big part of my time, but a small part of my life
I work full-time as a visual merchandiser at an outdoor retailer. My job is to make sure the store looks good — putting the merchandise we’re selling in place, making changes to the floor set to keep everything interesting, dressing and undressing mannequins, tracking sales. I get very steady hours — about 40 a week. That stability is key. It means I can plan out my life — I can look at a calendar and say “yes, I can schedule something outside of work this day.” Work is a big part of my time, but a small part of my life. Secure scheduling makes it easier to do everything outside of work, like spend time with my family, which is massive, or go on day trips or long hikes. I know exactly when I’m working, and I know those hours won’t change on me.
Last year, tens of thousands of food and retail workers in Seattle won secure scheduling, giving them two weeks' notice of their schedules, the right to rest between shifts, the right to give input into their schedules, and more.
How does your employer stack up when it comes to scheduling? Click here to find out your employer's Scheduling Score.
I’m lucky in that my current employer has always been pretty consistent when it comes to scheduling. But before I worked here, I was a salesperson at American Eagle and used to deal with constantly being on call, but never scheduled for real shifts. Managers would play favorites, so a small group of people would get all the hours. I just never knew if I was going to have money for anything. You could never really guess how many hours you’d get, so you could go from thinking, “ok, I’ll probably make a solid $200 or so,” to ending up with $40 in your paycheck.
And it was a huge bind on my time — being on call meant that I could never be too far from where I worked, because if I got called in, I would have to show up. My time wasn’t really mine. That’s stressful. You don’t feel valued as a worker, and it creates resentment towards management.
Now, I feel valued at my job, and I can plan ahead long-term. I can plan on having money and time to do things I need or want to do — whether that’s meeting someone at the climbing gym or just mundane grown-up things like going to the doctor’s office or scheduling an eye appointment.
I think secure scheduling is good for business, too. The team’s a little bit happier. Managers don’t have to worry about the schedule all the time, because it’s set up a couple weeks in advance, so if someone can’t show up or needs to take time off, they can plan around that.
Workers are more productive when we’re working the right hours and know when we’re scheduled to work. It boosts morale. It’s just a lot less stress, especially for people who are living paycheck to paycheck and have a lot of bills — it’s important to know exactly how much money you’re going to make at the end of the day and know you can make ends meet. And it’s vital to have work-life balance, which you can only have if you know when you’re working ahead of time. It’s that simple.