New Campaign To End On-Call Labor

On-call and last-minute scheduling, especially prevalent in low-wage and part-time positions, leaves workers unable to hold second jobs and scrambling for day care. Now a coalition of New York-based groups, including The Center for Popular Democracy, the Rockefeller Foundation and the online organization Purpose, has launched a national campaign that calls on employers to eliminate on-call work and set work schedules at least two-weeks in advance. Management software aimed at increasing labor efficiency is said to lie behind this difficult workplace labor scenario, which is especially popular among large retailers and restaurant chains. In New York state, a number of big-name retailers have already changed their policies,voluntarily.