City Council Hearing for a Fair Work Week

When

October 30, 2018 at 2:00pm - 4pm

Where

Philadelphia City Hall
1400 John F Kennedy Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19107
United States

Google map and directions

URGENT Call Councilperson Green!

We are counting on you to show up to the fair workweek city council hearing tomorrow but we just got news that the Chamber of Commerce is doing an all out assault on Councilwoman Helen Gym's Fair Workweek legislation.

Unfortunately, its working.

We need to push Councilperson Derek Green to support the bill. Green could be the deciding vote on this legislation. He needs to hear from Philadelphia workers across the city that we need fair, reliable and predictable scheduling.

Call Councilperson Derek Green (215) 686-3450, (215) 686-3451 and tell him you’re expecting his support on this bill.

SCRIPT

Hi, this is ______

I am calling to urge Councilperson Derek Green to support Councilwoman Helen Gym's fair workweek legislation so that 130,000 Philadelphia working families have reliable work hours, predictable schedules and control over their working time.

Will Councilperson Green vote to support working families with the Fair Workweek bill? 

[If Undecided/No]

Corporations are exploiting workers' time, forcing our families to meet last minute, unreliable work schedules. Over 60% of Philly’s service workers get less than 2 weeks’ notice of work hours, so we scramble to plan childcare, delay doctor visits, and can’t budget to pay our bills. Three quarters of part-time workers want more hours, but companies keep hiring new staff instead of giving us the chance to work full-time.  It doesn’t have to be this way - we can pass common-sense policy like New York City, Seattle and Oregon have.

We are all counting on Councilperson Green's to vote for the Fair Workweek bill and build a Philadelphia that works for workers, not just the wealthy corporations. 

[If Yes]

Thank Councilperson Green for supporting the Fair Workweek bill. We are all counting on his leadership to build a Philadelphia where workers and their families have the time they need to live fulfilling lives.

Show Support at Fair Workweek Hearing

The fight over working time has long been one of the major struggles against elite domination and corporate control. It's easy to forget that it was the workers' movement -- with the help of more than a few socialists -- that fought and died for our right to a weekend.

But today, workers' hard-won right to free time is under threat.

The contemporary use of "on-call" scheduling by corporate management leaves over 130,000 Philadelphia food service, hospitality, and retail workers with unstable, irregular hours and exploitative, unpredictable schedules.

Through the Fair Workweek campaign, a coalition of 40 organizations -- including Philly DSA -- has worked to win the support of 8 City Council members. But we have to continue to pressure our lawmakers if we want to win for workers the dignity and respect they deserve.

Right now the bosses -- and their suit-and-tie goon squad -- are blitzing City Council to mislead, persuade and pressure council into denying workers the right to predictable scheduling and reliable work hours. To win, we have to show City Council that workers are paying attention; that we won't be intimidated by management's lobbyists; and that we deserve our time.

Philly DSA will be joining our allies at City Council this Tuesday, October 30 for a hearing on fair workweek legislation. We will meet at 1:45 PM at the Northeast Corridor of City Hall. Make sure to wear your DSA shirts and don't hesitate to contact Kilynn Lunsford or Jonathan McJunkin for more information.

Workers' time has always been political, and still is now. Wherever there is a political fight between the classes, we can be sure that management has the money, the courts and the politicians. But we have the strength of knowing that we are many and they are few.

RSVP here or on Facebook.

Will you come?

Join Philly DSA

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