Do as I Say, Not as I Do: Big Labor Backers to “Schedules That Work Act” Seeking to End Irregular Work Shifts Ironically Require Their Workers to Work Irregular Hours

A new bill titled the “Schedules that Work Act” is sponsored by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif. and backed by a variety of Big Labor organizations such as the AFL-CIO and the United Food and Commercial Workers, as well as liberal activist groups Demos, Restaurant Opportunities Center United, and the Retail Action Project. This bill is designed to give employees more rights to demand flexible work schedules and put an end to irregular work shifts. This bill, if it becomes law, will have a dramatic and horrific effect on many industries.

Laughingly, though, if you are applying for a job as lead organizer at the Retail Action Project, you must have a “willingness to work long, irregular evening or weekends as needed.” Similarly, if you’re trying to become an AFL-CIO senior field representative, you must be willing “to work long hours and weekends as required” and have the “ability to travel on a regular basis as needed, and for extended periods of time.” The national campaign co-director for the Center for Popular Democracy, an activist group affiliated with the AFL-CIO requires “an ability to work flexible hours.” Even the worker center ROC says, “Organizers are required to work long and irregular hours including work on weekends and on holidays as necessary. The work of an organizer necessitates flexibility as demands and priorities for a particular campaign or the overall organization shifts.” Hat tip to Labor Relations Institute.