Sen. Warren hears of workers' woes
Calling for "modest changes" to employees' rights to have a say in their work scheduling, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Monday held a roundtable with fast food, coffee shop and supermarket workers.
"These are the stories I take back to talk to folks in Washington," the Cambridge Democrat told a group gathered around a table at Equal Exchange Cafe near Boston's North End.
Warren's bill would require that at businesses with more than 14 employees, management would need to grant requested scheduled changes to accommodate a worker's education or job training, a second-job, a health condition or to care for a child or elder, unless the there is a legitimate business reason to reject it.
Rep. Sean Garballey, an Arlington Democrat, filed similar legislation in the Massachusetts House where it has been referred to the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development.
Backers of the legislation said it would curtail a practice where hours vary wildly from week to week and rigid work schedules impede other personal and professional pursuits.
Latisha Crosley, a 19-year-old from Holbrook who works at Burger King, arrived late at the event after she said her shift was cut at the fast food restaurant, illustrating the way schedules can change on the fly in some workplaces.
"It is the lowest paid workers who have the most chaotic scheduling," Warren said. Warren said erratic scheduling makes it hard to work and receive an education, budget responsibly or pursue a second career.
Warren's bill would also require employers to compensate employees who are on-call, even if they are not called into work, listing the particulars of the additional pay on the pay stubs, and to provide advance notice of work schedules.
"The single mom really should be able to know whether or not she's really going to have work for the day before she arranges for child care and drives halfway across town," Warren said. She said, "These are pretty modest changes."
Because of new laws passed last year, employers in Massachusetts have been mandated to pay increasing levels of hourly minimum wage and offer sick leave. A push for a federal mandate on scheduling is near-certain to provoke a countervailing effort from business lobbyists, and this year both houses of Congress are controlled by the Republican Party, which would likely be less receptive to the idea.
Ethan Bernstein, a professor at Harvard Business School who has conducted research on labor, said new software has eased the problem of scheduling for businesses.
Legislation filed last July by U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin and Warren was sent to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. This session's legislation, which is slightly different, was referred last week to the same committee, where U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is now chairman.
Kirsten Salpini, an Allston resident who now serves at Abigail's Restaurant in Cambridge but spoke about her previous employer, said schedules would be set there without "any rhyme or reason to when it was released," making it difficult to work on her acting career.
"You'd have to kind of hope for the schedule that you wanted," said Salpini. She said, "I started in this industry for flexibility, but it seems like that's what I don't have."
Noting that day of the week has bearing on the take-home pay of servers who rely on diners' tips, Salpini said she had signed a lease in February for September and hopes she will be able to afford it.
Jeff Goldhaber, a 23-year Stop & Shop employee from Mansfield who is active in the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1445, said collective bargaining agreements have ensured more stable scheduling by the supermarket company.
A cooperative with 145 employees and $60 million in 2014 revenue, Equal Exchange provides workers scheduling flexibility, according to baristas who participated in the roundtable and the company's co-executive director Rob Everts.
Nakita Turner, a barista at Equal Exchange who lives in Malden, said that at a previous job she would often work from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and would be on-call and "go running" if another employee did not show up.
"I was overworked. I was stressed," said Turner. She said, "It was miserable. It was hell. And now I work here and I'm so grateful and my coworkers are my friends... I'm so happy."
"It's good to hear it works," Warren responded.
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