CPD Congratulates Philadelphia Fair Workweek Coalition

12.11.2018

PHILADELPHIA, PA –- In response to the passage of fair workweek legislation in Philadelphia, the Center for Popular Democracy released the following statement from Rachel Deutsch, Supervising Attorney for Worker Justice:

“The Center for Popular Democracy and the Fair Workweek Initiative congratulate the Philadelphia Fair Workweek coalition on winning groundbreaking protections for hourly service workers. This victory was made possible by members of One Pennsylvania, Unite Here and UFCW who spoke up about the impact of erratic work hours, and by strong support from faith leaders, healthcare providers, educators, legal services agencies, and advocates for children and youth who demonstrated the importance of worker protections for advancing economic opportunity for Philadelphia's families.

We applaud Councilmembers Gym, Quiñones Sánchez, Squilla, Henon, Jones, Blackwell, Greenlee, and Johnson for championing the legislation, which passed the council by a vote of 14-3. We recognize the tireless leadership of Councilmember Gym, which included extensive engagement with labor, community, and business stakeholders. Councilmember Gym demonstrated extraordinary commitment in ensuring that the policy passed by the council both provides meaningful protections and extends to as many of Philly's hourly service workers as possible.  As a result, the bill passed by council covers food service, retail and hospitality workers at companies with at least 250 employees and 30 locations. Philly is the first city to protect hotel workers from erratic work hours.

Philadelphia is also the first city to pass a fair workweek law despite being preempted by an anti-worker state legislature from raising the local minimum wage.  By ensuring part-time workers have opportunities for full-time work, this policy is a critical step towards family economic security. We look forward to other cities following Philly's lead in addressing income volatility while building power to reclaim the authority to raise hourly wages.”

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Media Contact: Lia Weintraub, lweintraub@populardemocracy.org