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Press Releases

District Residents, Advocates, and Policy Experts Make a Case for Secure Hours and Reliable Schedules

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, November 3, 2016 CONTACT: Matthew Hanson, DC Working Families; mhanson(at)workingfamilies.org or (202) 930-1489 Washington, DC – Earlier today, dozens of people testified at DC Councilmember Elissa Silverman’s public roundtable about work schedule issues and how they affect families and business owners across the District. Many who testified reiterated how unstable and fluctuating hours that profitable companies provide remain barriers for working people striving to make ends meet, an issue that led the Council to take up and recently table the Hours and Scheduling Stability Act. In addition to Councilmember Silverman, Councilmembers Robert White, Brianne Nadeau and Brandon Todd attended the hearing, as well as incoming Councilmember Trayon White. Chad Phillips, a Ward 7 resident, took a day off from working at the Dunkin Donuts on Minnesota Avenue to speak at the roundtable. Phillips shared during his testimony, “When I first started working at Dunkin Donuts, I was getting about 50 hours a week. After six months of working there, my hours were cut down to 12-16 hours a week. This makes it extremely hard to provide my family and forced me to have three jobs. I’ve tried to ask for more hours and was told that was all they could give me. Meanwhile, they reduced staff, hired new people and gave them more hours and less pay.” Phillips’ experience echoes findings from a 2015 survey examining schedules of people who work in the low-wage service industry in Washington, DC Survey respondents typically face a 13-hour range in weekly hours per month, receiving as little as 25 hours some weeks and a high of 38 hours... read more

D.C. Councilmembers Turn their Back on Residents, Punt Instead of Ensuring Full-time Jobs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 20, 2016

CONTACT
Elizabeth Falcon, Executive Director of DC Jobs With Justice; Elizabeth(at)dcjwj.org or 202-674-2872

D.C. Councilmembers Turn their Back on Residents, Punt Instead of Ensuring Full-time Jobs

By tabling Just Hours legislation today, the D.C. Council is sending a message to thousands of people that they must keep waiting for livable jobs.

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Landmark “Just Hours” Legislation Successfully Voted Out of DC Council Committee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2016
CONTACT: Ari Schwartz, ari(at)dcjwj.org, 202-674-3228

Washington, D.C. – Today, the DC Council committee on Business, Consumer, and Regulatory Affairs voted 3-2 to advance the Hours and Scheduling Stability Act of 2016 to the full Council. Led by at-large Councilmember Vincent B. Orange, the legislation was introduced in December of 2015 with 8 co-sponsors and now will be taken up by the full Council in the coming weeks. Councilmember Orange called the successful vote a “great day for working families.”

“The committee, led by Councilmembers Orange, Nadeau, and Silverman, moved the District one step closer to providing thousands of our residents the opportunity to work full-time on stable hours. We applaud those Councilmembers for standing with our neighbors who work in retail and food service and so urgently need this law to advance. We look forward to seeing the full Council follow suit and pass the measure without delay,” said Nikki Lewis, Executive Director of DC Jobs With Justice.

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Press Contact:

Ari (at) jwj.org

Ari Schwartz Lead Organizer, DC Jobs With Justice

Press Clips

D.C. Council tables bill following pressure from Wegmans, other big-box retailers
Drew Hansen, Washington Business Journal
September 21, 2016

‘Fair scheduling’ bill dies in D.C. Council
Aaron Davis, The Washington Post
September 20, 2016

So Long to ‘Fair Hours,’ For Now
Andrew Giambrone, Washington City Paper
September 20, 2016

D.C.’ s ‘fair scheduling’ labor bill hits a hiccup, but proponents still hopeful
Perry Stein, The Washington Post
June 28, 2016

Bill Proposes Two Weeks of Advanced Notice for Shifts Among Major D.C. Retailers
Andrew Giambrone, Washington City Paper
June 23, 2016

Popular Mall Stores Accused Of Screwing Over Workers
Shane Ferro, Huffington Post
April 14, 2016

Why my business values its employees
Gina Schaefer, The Washington Post
March 28, 2016

Business Group Uses Blizzard to Criticize Scheduling Bill
Quinn Meyers, Washington City Paper
January 27, 2016

I Was A Victim Of Abusive Scheduling. Then I Had To Implement It Myself
Carla Hashley, The Billfold
January 14, 2016

Proposed laws could change lives of D.C.’s hourly workers
Abigail Hauslohner, The Washington Post
January 13, 2016

Are Scheduling Bills Like D.C.’s Helpful or Meddlesome?
Jon Steingart, Bloomberg BNA
January 12, 2016

DC City Councilman to Introduce Scheduling Bill
Marianne Levine, Politico Pro
December 1, 2015

‘On-Call’ Workers Could See More Schedule Stability Under New Bill
Andrew Giambrone, Washington City Paper
December 1, 2015

Urban Outfitters to End On-Call Shifts Nationwide
Krystina Gustafson, CNBC
October 28, 2015

The End of On-Call Schedules?
Bouree Lam, The Atlantic
October 23, 2015

This Labor Day, D.C. Needs Fair Schedules
Nikki Lewis, Medium
September 6, 2015

Work advice: Retailer’s ‘flexible scheduling’ leaves employee in knots
Karla Miller, The Washington Post
July 23, 2015

Victoria’s Secret is Ending a Controversial Practice
Laura Donovan, ATTN:
June 30, 2015

Unpredictable Hours Are Becoming Workers’ Worst Enemy
Nicole Charky, ATTN:
June 12, 2015

New Political Debates Brewing Over Worker Schedules
The Kojo Nnamdi Show, WAMU
May 19, 2015

D.C. Council Delays Work Scheduling Bill Once Again
Rachel Sadon, DCist
September 20, 2016

Lawmakers Weigh Labor Laws for Part-Time Workers
Mark Segraves, NBC
September 20, 2016

D.C. Council tables employee advanced scheduling act
Ryan McDermott, The Washington Times
September 20, 2016

Orange Pushes Back Vote on Work-Scheduling Bill
Andrew Giambrone, Washington City Paper
June 28, 2016

D.C. Council Moves Toward New Work Scheduling Requirements
Rachel Sadon, DCist
June 24, 2016

Forever 21, BCBG, Aeropostale, Uniqlo Under Fire for On-Call Scheduling
Reuters
April 15, 2016

D.C. Attorney General Will Investigate Retailers’ On-Call Scheduling Practices
Andrew Giambrone, Washington City Paper
April 13, 2016

There Was A March In D.C. To Protest This Shady Retail Practice
Alexandra Ilyashov, Refinery29
February 14, 2016

DC Council to consider bills on low-wage worker schedules
Associated Press
January 13, 2016

Retail Lobby Urges DC Council To Can Worker Schedule Bill
Braden Campbell, Law360
January 12, 2016

The under-the-radar profit-maximizing scheduling practice that can put workers in a “downward spiral”
Lydia DePillis, The Washington Post
January 8, 2016

Proposed Legislation Would Make Employers Pay Workers For Switching Up Schedules
Rachel Kurzius, DCist
December 1, 2015

More Companies Are Ending On-Call Scheduling
Victor Luckerson, Time
October 23, 2015

Low-wage workers are about to get some of the biggest raises they’ve ever seen
Lydia DePillis, The Washington Post
September 3, 2015

Workers’ schedules could be the next labor fight in the D.C. Council
Perry Stein, The Washington Post
June 12, 2015

Report: Low-Wage Workers In D.C. Struggle With Unpredictable Hours
Rachel Sadon, DCist
June 12, 2015

Poor scheduling practices harm D.C. service workers
Kelly Cohen, Washington Examiner
June 12, 2015

The Cost of “Just-in-Time” Scheduling
Morgan Baskin, Washington City Paper
June 11, 2015

The next labor fight is over when you work, not how much you make
Lydia Depillis, The Washington Post
May 8, 2015

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