FAIR WORK WEEK LA – Fair Workweek LA is a coalition of worker rights advocates, clergy, community groups, health and safety groups, and retail and grocery workers across Los Angeles calling for a fair scheduling policy and higher workplace standards and protections.

WHO WE ARE

Fair Workweek LA is a coalition of worker rights advocates, clergy, community groups, health and safety groups, and retail and grocery workers across Los Angeles calling for a fair scheduling policy and higher workplace standards and protections. Together, the coalition strives to make jobs in the retail and grocery industry sustainable and restore dignity and respect in the workplace.

The pandemic rattled these industries as workers in these sectors became frontline essential workers responsible for connecting our communities with the foods and resources needed during uncertain times. Many workers were forced to choose between their health and a paycheck. Our Fair Workweek LA coalition continues fighting to improve these industries by organizing to ensure workers have access to paid leave, the right to oversee how health and safety standards are met in their workplaces, and more.

What is Fair Work Week?

In November 2022, we won a comprehensive Fair Work Week policy for Los Angeles grocery, drugstore and retail workers that includes:

Advance notice of schedules
Predictability pay
Pay for canceled or on-call shifts
Right to rest between shifts
Consent to last-minute additions
Right to request a flexible working arrangement
Promoting full-time work
No discrimination based on hours of work
Record-keeping requirements
Enforcement
And more!

The retail industry is one of Los Angeles’ biggest employers, with almost half a mil-

lion workers in the county, and 147,157 workers in the city, the majority of whom are women and workers of color.

Why a Fair Work Week?

Retail workers deal with low wages and other challenges that disrupt their lives, including last-minute scheduling changes, no time off for emergencies or special events, unpredictable schedules from week to week that preclude second jobs and complicate child- and eldercare, underemployment (getting fewer hours than requested), and lack of benefits for part-time workers.

These are hardworking parents who struggle to pick up their children at school or take them to the doctor when they are sick because of such erratic work schedules. These are college students who aren’t sure from one week to the next if they can pay their rent, let alone cover tuition and books, because their paychecks are inconsistent. Unstable work hours lead to poor health. Stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, irregular meal times, and missed medical appointments all result in serious health problems because of erratic scheduling.

Unstable work hours uphold a system of income inequality that keeps communities in poverty. The instability also leads to poor health with stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, irregular meal times, and missed medical appointments as just a few ways unfair workweeks can hurt workers.

Unfair scheduling is impacting a huge number of working families, for that reason, the City of Los Angeles passed a policy solution. Now we are hoping Los Angeles County follow’s in the City’s footsteps in passing a policy to make jobs in the retail and grocery sector sustainable, good paying jobs.