Schedules That Work Act Re-Introduced As Fair Workweek Movement Grows

Fair, flexible and reliable scheduling is key to ensuring working families can earn a living with dignity and respect. Re-introduced on Wednesday, Schedules that Work Act would aid hourly employees in some of America's fastest-growing and lowest-paying industries, workplaces that too often make it difficult to juggle the competing life demands of child care, school and medical appointments.

But while it's a good first step, most of the legislation would not cover call center workers who also struggle with erratic, unpredictable scheduling policies.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT 3rd District) speak to the press after introduction of the "Schedules That Work Act."

Members of CWA and TU, the union of T-Mobile US workers, aren't solely relying on Congress, and across the country they're building a movement to restore a fair workweek for all workers. In Albuquerque, N.M., they recently partnered with the Center for Popular Democracy, OLÉ and other community organizations to support a city council ordinance that would provide workers predictable scheduling, earned sick days and more full-time opportunities. It's about helping families balance their responsibilities at home with their duties at work. It's for workers like Luis Castaneda, a husband and father of two children, who has struggled to finish his college degree while working as a senior representative at one of T-Mobile's call centers in Albuquerque.

"I really want to go to school to better my life – it's for my children and for myself," said Castaneda. "When I got my first shift, I realized this schedule doesn't work with school, but I thought, 'Maybe the next shift realignment, I will get a better shift.' But since then, seven realignments have gone by, and I realized there is not a single shift in our call center that would enable workers to attend classes. T-Mobile always brags about how it encourages workers to go to school and even offers tuition reimbursement, but on a practical level the company makes it impossible to attend any classes. This is super frustrating."

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Bobby Scott (D-VA), and 75 of their colleagues introduced the Schedules that Work Act in the Senate and House. Numerous women's, labor and civil rights groups have already endorsed it.

"This bill is about basic fairness," said Warren. "A single mom should know if her hours are being canceled before she arranges for daycare and drives halfway across town to show up at work. Someone who wants to go to school to get an education should not be able to get fired just for asking for a more predictable schedule. A worker who is told to wait around on-call for hours with no guarantee of work hours should get something for his time. It's time to end unfair scheduling practices that hurt workers and families."