Stolen wages, stolen lives: A critical analysis of the fair workweek policy

Cooke, Adrienne Genevieve Ybanez

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/105081 Copy

Description

Title

Stolen wages, stolen lives: A critical analysis of the fair workweek policy

Author(s)

Cooke, Adrienne Genevieve Ybanez

Issue Date

2019-04-26

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Doussard, Marc

Department of Study

Urban & Regional Planning

Discipline

Urban Planning

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.U.P.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

labor, policy, workers, retail, food service

Abstract

Unpredictable and irregular work schedules are a well-known aspect of labor conditions in the retail and food service sectors of the US economy (Lambert, Fugiel, & Henly, 2014). This issue is now being addressed by advocates of what is commonly known as the Fair Workweek policy. Despite the variance among the policies that have passed in different municipalities, the goals of this policy are threefold: first, to provide clear guidelines for the scheduling of workers, second, to promote wage stability, and third, to generate a more socially just work-life balance for workers these industries. This paper aims to investigate what protections subsequent versions of this policy attempts to create in relation to what workers in these industries are experiencing. In order to investigate this burgeoning policy initiative, in-depth semi-structured interviews with retail and food service workers were conducted over the summer of 2017 in the Southern California region. While initial findings suggest that features of the Fair Workweek policy can lead to more stable wages, there are aspects of social reproduction that the policy has not or cannot address.

Graduation Semester

2019-05

Type of Resource

text

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/105081

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2019 Adrienne Cooke

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