*For Planning Purposes Only*

Contact: Ricardo A. Ramírez, rramirez@populardemocracy.org, 202-464-7376 

Congress will reintroduce the “Schedules that Work Act,” which has increased support, reflecting a growing traction among leading legislators including Senators Warren, Murray, Baldwin, Murphy, Schumer, Brown and Franken and Representatives DeLauro and Scott.

The Center for Popular Democracy released the following statement:

“The Schedules that Work Act is path-breaking legislation in the national movement to update workplace protections with common sense solutions for the challenges faced by the majority of Americans who are working by the hour,” said Carrie Gleason, director of the Fair Workweek Initiative at the Center for Popular Democracy. “The introduction of this bill comes amid a growing national movement of working people in states and cities across the country who are declaring that their time counts. Working Americans increasingly struggle with unpredictable hours that change week to week and have too little say in the schedules that have become a moving target. In twelve states, legislators have responded to the needs of working families by introducing fair workweek legislation, including in cities like Albuquerque, Minneapolis, and Washington DC. As political momentum grows for these new labor standards, employers are also facing increasing pressure to reform their scheduling practices with major retailers – like Victoria’s Secret and the GAP - facing scrutiny regarding their use of unpaid on-call shifts.”

"As a night student with two jobs, having to learn about my schedule with only a week’s notice is hard,” said Ciera Moran, a Starbucks worker in New Haven, Connecticut who is working with Make the Road Connecticut. “Often I get very little sleep, and sometimes I have to scramble to get enough hours and make ends meet. A fair workweek means that I get the advance notice I need to pay my bills, get an education, and plan my future. I deserve a fair workweek and I know that the only way we get it is if workers come together and speak out."

 "Across the country, parents working hourly jobs, particularly women, are increasingly struggling to balance their families with the chaos of unpredictable work schedules they can't control," said Anthony Newby, executive director of Neighborhoods Organizing for Change in Minnesota. “Here in Minneapolis, we are organizing to pass citywide fair scheduling policies before the end of the year. As this week’s event will show, our families are energized and won’t back down until we obtain a workweek we can count on.”

 As the Schedules That Work Act moves through Congress, state and municipal campaigns are taking off across the country. On Wednesday, 200 workers with Neighborhoods Organizing for Change and other labor and community groups will march to City Hall in Minneapolis to release a report highlighting the scheduling crisis in Minneapolis and the need for policy solutions. They will be unveiling groundbreaking new data about the effect of unpredictable scheduling in Minneapolis neighborhoods.

Workers involved with CPD’s community partners and the Fair Workweek Initiative in Minneapolis, Albuquerque and across the country are available to talk to the media. Interested reporters can request an interview by writing an email to press@populardemocracy.org.

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The Fair Workweek Initiative (FWI), a collaborative effort anchored by the Center for Popular Democracy (CPD), is bringing together leading worker, community and policy organizations across the country to raise industry standards and develop, drive and win policy solutions that achieve a workweek working families can count on.

The Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda.