Workers Made the Case for Colorado Fair Workweek Bill
MEDIA RELEASE
February 16, 2023
Contact: Marcela Salazar | misalazar@ufcw7.com | 202-567-1163
HB 1118 win-win will make workers more productive, businesses more profitable
DENVER – Today the Colorado Fair Workweek Coalition demonstrated how House Bill 1118 – the Fair Workweek Employment Standards Act – will be a win-win for employees and employers alike. Workers with stable schedules are more productive at work – and their companies are more profitable – when they no longer have to worry about how to manage their family responsibilities, healthcare appointments and unpredictable income. A recent poll showed 74 percent of Colorado voters support the Fair Workweek Act.
“For years, my managers denied my request to accommodate a weekly medical appointment,” said Abby Vestecka, who used to work at a large supermarket chain. “The heavy lifting I did in the dairy department contributed to the need for back surgery. Even worse, I was frequently scheduled overnight with only 9½ hours to rest before I had to come in for my next shift. These harsh conditions and unpredictable work schedule made it so I really struggled to bring my most productive self to work.”
The bill will provide predictable schedules for workers at retail, food and beverage companies with 250 or more employees, applying to the roughly 450,000 Coloradans in these jobs who live on the edge because their employers keep them in the dark about when they’ll work, how long they’ll work and how much they’ll earn. These large employers – only in those industries – will be expected to:
Develop work plans for each employee with expected hours/shift lengths/times per week
Provide schedules 14 days in advance
Ensure employees have at least 12 hours of rest time between shifts
Compensate employees an extra 1-2 hours of pay for last-minute schedule changes
Not retaliate against employees who request schedule changes
Corporate employers regularly call in low-wage, hourly workers at the last minute and often send them home early. This puts an untenable burden on families trying to schedule childcare and medical appointments and those trying to make ends meet with unpredictable paychecks. Workers with unstable schedules experience physical stress, depression, financial instability, and sleep problems.
“Workers are not widgets but human beings, and they too have obligations outside of work,” said Kim Cordova, UFCW Local 7 President and Vice President of UFCW International. “Predictable scheduling is essential for all workers to be able to carry out basic needs like taking care of family, health, and to be able to take a second job if needed or go back to school. Knowing your work schedule ahead of time is a basic need and a basic right.”
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The Colorado Fair Workweek Coalition is committed to advancing fairness in the workplace for all Coloradans – more than 30 groups are members, including ACLU of Colorado, CLLARO, Colorado Education Association, Communications Workers of America, Colorado Children’s Campaign, Towards Justice and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7.
Local 7, is the largest private-sector Union in Colorado and Wyoming. It is affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union which represents over 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada, one of the largest private-sector Unions in North America. UFCW members work in a wide range of industries, including retail food, food processing, agriculture, retail sales, and health care.