Backers of Seattle’s scheduling law boast that “what happens in Seattle doesn’t stay in Seattle.”
An article in the Atlantic, “Predictable Schedules Are the New $15 Minimum Wage,” would seem to confirm the claim, while extending it to a pair of coastal thinkalikes. Adam Chandler writes,
If it takes three examples to label something a fad, then San Francisco, Seattle, and New York City have collectively been some of American labor’s most prolific trendsetters. In recent years, the three coastal cities were among the first and highest-profile polities to instate a $15 minimum wage, efforts that begot statewide regulations in California and New York and inspired legislation around the country. This urban triumvirate is also part of a handful of American cities to adopt paid-sick-leave policies in recent years.
Already the “predictive scheduling” has been cast as the “next big legislative work-place fight” in Oregon. The Oregonian reports,
After passing paid sick leave in 2015 and raising Oregon’s minimum wage this spring, top Democrats on Thursday signaled next year’s likely flashpoint on worker rights: a mandate requiring some employers to give employees early notice of scheduling changes.
“It’s going to be a big deal,” said Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland. “But we really think that the time to tackle this is now.”
The paper reports it’s going to be a heavy lift.
But it’s already clear the effort will be anything but easy. Every business interest that had agreed to participate in a work group on the idea earlier this year walked away at the first meeting.
“We respectfully withdraw from this interim work group,” their June 1 letter stated. It was signed by Oregon Farm Bureau, Oregon Trucking Association, Associated Oregon Industries, Northwest Grocery Association and the Portland Business Alliance.
What’s next?
