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Description
From the Stated Meeting of Philadelphia City Council held Thursday, November 1, 2018:
Councilwoman Helen Gym (At Large) thanks members of the Committee on Law and Government for advancing her work scheduling bill, outlines the next steps.
Read the bill: http://bit.ly/2EZ7Asn
A
She
recognizes
Councilwoman
again.
Thank
you
very
much.
Council
president,
one
of
the
most
exciting
things
about
coming
into
this
council
is
being
part
of
a
body
that
has
worked
tirelessly
to
lift
the
floor
for
Philadelphia's
most
neediest
residents
that
most
especially
includes
some
of
our
workers
and,
in
particular,
emphasizes
the
value
of
what
it
means
to
support
labor
in
this
city
we
support
labor.
We
support
the
rights
of
working
people.
A
We
also
recognize
that
those
things
are
not
in
conflict
with
good
business,
that
smart
business
is
smart
business
practices
and
taking
care
of
your
employees
go
hand-in-hand,
and
many
businesses
in
this
city
already
do
that
and
support
it,
and
that's
why
I
was
really
I
wanted
to
express
my
gratitude
to
the
Committee
on
long
government,
which
this
week
reported
out
favorably
the
Fair
Work
Week
legislation
over
600
people
came
into
City
Council
into
City
Hall
that
Tuesday
afternoon
to
say
that
they
stood
for
this
bill.
That's
quite
a
cross-section
of
the
city
of
Philadelphia
I.
A
You
know
I'm
very
grateful
to
all
those
all
those
folks
who
stood
up
and
to
my
eight
colleagues
who
are
sponsors
to
the
members
of
the
committee,
and
especially
a
committee
chairman
bill
Greenlee,
who
has
championed
labor
rights
for
working
people
and
Philadelphia
throughout
his
tenure.
But
I
expect
that
many
of
you
on
this
council
are
going
to
get
quite
a
few
calls
in
the
coming
weeks
and
I
want
my
fellow
colleagues
to
know
that
we,
my
door,
is
open
and
that
we
have
put
in
a
lot
of
time
into
this
bill.
A
The
push
for
our
Fair
Work
Week
began
over
a
year
ago,
and
dozens
of
organizations
came
together
to
form
a
Fair
Work
Week
coalition,
driven
by
the
real
stories
of
working
Philadelphians.
We
heard
from
families
about
the
ways
are
unstable
schedules,
hurt
them
their
families
and
their
children,
working
moms
who
incur
childcare
costs
or
lose
childcare
subsidies,
because
their
shifts
and
paychecks
change
so
drastically.
From
week
to
week,
I
heard
from
a
college
student
who
had
to
choose
between
staying
in
school
or
working
at
the
job
that
paid
for
that
school
and
he
dropped
out.
A
I
heard
from
families
who
can't
predict
their
rent
or
put
food
on
the
table
because
they
don't
know
how
many
hours
they'll
work
that
week
or
because
their
shifts
get
cut,
but
we've
also
heard
from
businesses
I've
met
with
over
80
businesses,
we've
held
business,
labor
roundtables,
and
we
have
changed
and
edited
and
evolved
this
bill
into
its
current
state.
The
bill
that
you
will
see
and
that
world
debate
over
the
coming
weeks
has
61
substantive
and
technical
amendments
to
the
bill.
A
They
reflect
a
significant
level
of
engagement
from
businesses
they
which
have
not
only
been
heard
they've,
been
at
the
table
and
the
dozens
of
amendments
that
the
committee
accepted
reflectin,
sincere
respect,
engagement
and
collaboration
that
our
office
has
demonstrated
from
the
start.
It's
important
for
folks
to
recognize
this
bill
only
applies
to
hourly
workers
who
make
below
$24,000
a
year.
They
cannot
go
above
the
federal
overtime
limit.
These
are
our
lowest
wage
workers
and
in
a
country
in
which
or
in
our
own
city,
where
we
have
the
lowest
unemployment
rate
and
poverty
has
engrained
itself.
A
It
is
important
to
remember
that
incomes
for
the
top
20
percent
in
Philadelphia
are
up
13%
and
for
the
top
1%
they've
increased
by
over
32
percent.
Since
2010,
we
celebrate
that,
but
at
the
same
time,
incomes
for
the
bottom
60%
are
the
same
or
have
lowered
since
2007,
while
I
cannot
and
this
body
cannot
lift
the
minimum
wage
for
those
workers
in
this
city.
The
next
best
thing
we
can
do
is
provide
stable
schedules
that
are
predictable
and
sensible,
both
for
business
and
those
workers
through
the
Fair
Work
Week
legislation.
A
Those
workers
deserve
it
they're
asking
for
it.
They
have
come
to
us
with
their
stories
and
I'm,
hoping
that
we
can
hear
them
and,
as
I
said,
all
of
this
on
city
council
have
been
in
circumstances
where
we
can't
please
everybody
with
a
piece
of
legislation.
It's
just
not
going
to
meet
everybody's
needs.
I
am
committed
to
getting
this
legislation
right,
but
I'm
also
committed
to
having
this
council
body
raise
the
floor
for
workers
who
deserve
so
much
more
than
they
are
getting
from
the
wealthiest
and
most
successful
and
largest
businesses
in
the
nation.
A
This
only
applies
to
large
businesses.
250
employees,
30
locations
are
more
nationally.
They
can
subsidize
and
profit
across
locations.
These
workers
rely
on
their
jobs,
day-to-day,
so
I
look
forward
to
the
conversation.
My
door
is
open
to
all
my
colleagues
and
please
feel
free
to
reach
out.
Thank
you
very
much.
Council
president.