Retail Workers Fight 'Just in Time' Scheduling

Conservatives criticize low-income people for having cell phones, but they often need them to find out if they are scheduled to work that day.

http://womensenews.org/story/equal-payfair-wage/121109/retail-workers-fight-just-in-time-scheduling#.UKk102ez4eN

By Maggie Freleng WeNews correspondent
Monday, November 12, 2012

In the spring of next year senior members of the retail union at New York City's Bloomingdales and Macy's will start enjoying a rare privilege for workers in the fast-growing retail sector: they will choose their preferred hours of work, setting their own schedules and vacation time.

The workers, who are part of the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union Local 1-S, Macy's, and Local 3, Bloomingdales, will be able to choose one weekend off a month and their late-night shifts.

These gains--won in contract negotiations hammered out between retail owners and retail union Local 1-S and Local 3 members--are in contrast to the scheduling uncertainties rampant in an increasingly "just-in-time" work force, said Cassandra Berrocal, president of Local 3.

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Almost 60 percent of the retail work force is hired as part time, temporary or holiday, and only 17 percent of workers surveyed have a set schedule, according to the report. Women and people of color make up the majority of the frontline retail work force.

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One-third of the 436 retail workers surveyed in the report have dependents and
"on-call" scheduling is particularly destabilizing for workers juggling the responsibilities of families, school and second jobs.

Workers are left waiting to find out if they will work that day, sometimes an hour before the shift is to begin. This makes it difficult to keep up with child care, school or second jobs that are often needed when workers are guaranteed only one day a week of work.

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Retailers' reliance on part-time workers has increased over the past few decades with the expansion of large chain retailers that stay open for long hours and cut labor costs by hiring part-time workers for whom they don't pay overtime, unemployment and retirement benefits or provide unpaid family medical leaves. Voluntary part timers increased by 9 percent from 2006 to 2010 while the number of involuntary part-time workers more than doubled, with a gain of 929,000 workers, according to the 2011 report.

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Walton said an obvious solution is for retail worker advocacy groups to band together to fight for conditions such as those at Costco. The Washington state-based wholesale membership club issues employees schedules at least one week in advance, without change, and guarantees part-time workers a minimum of 24 hours of work a week.

Costco employees are also paid a starting hourly wage of $11 or $11.50 across the nation.

A number of states --ranging from California to Connecticut-- have implemented reporting pay laws saying that if a worker shows up for a scheduled shift and is sent home, she or he must be paid for a minimum number of hours.

However, while some states, including New York, have reporting pay laws, employers can sometimes get around such requirements with "on-call" shifts that are technically not scheduled, so the employer cannot be held responsible for paying the worker minimum hours.