RICHMOND, Va. - The retail employees ringing up those last-minute purchases deserve better than losing their hours in a few days, according to those workers and union groups. Organizations such as Working America say many of today's retail and service jobs are so unreliable that it makes it hard for the workers to get by and support their families.

That was the experience for Jim Parsons. After losing his white-collar job in the recession, he took what was supposed to be a 20-hour-a-week retail job at a mall. Parsons says it was fine before Christmas.

"But after the holidays were over, hours were cut back drastically and I was getting five or six hours a week," he says. "Not even a full eight-hour shift. There's no planning for the future under those conditions."

Union groups are asking lawmakers to mandate fair, reliable scheduling and earned sick leave.

According to Working America, retail and fast-food workers often have their shifts canceled a few hours before they start or they are called in to work at the last minute and have to struggle to find child care or transportation. Brianna Halverson, Minnesota state director of Working America, says that kind of insecurity defines many of the jobs being created now. But, she says, it's possible to make it so those employees can make lives for themselves and their families.

"Jobs are being created but they're in the service and retail industry," Halverson says. "Having earned sick days, having employers passing fair scheduling standards so people know how many hours they're going to be working, that's going to make these jobs better."

Sometimes employers justify low-wage job rules by saying those are entry-level positions, that the workers can expect to move up over time. But Parsons says they're more like a dead end that's tough to escape. He's gotten better work, a union job driving a school bus and a steadier position as a telemarketer. But he says when he was in the retail world it was impossible to save and plan for the future.

"It's really hard to move from a job like that to a better-paying job," Parsons says. "The competitive environment is such that people really face a difficulty climbing that ladder. The rungs have been competitively removed."


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Workers at a hospital on the Oregon coast are citing a victory in contract negotiations with their employer.

More than 100 members of SEIU Local 49 at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital in Lincoln City will receive raises averaging 10% over the first year of their new contract. Brittany King, a CT special imaging technologist at the hospital, said many workers have been struggling to afford living in the community, and this raise makes the hospital's wages competitive with the local job market.

"There are a lot of members," she said, "that told me specifically that, 'I think this is a wage that I can live with, that means I don't have to leave Samaritan.'"

King said workers have dealt with a number of tragedies in recent years, including the pandemic and 2020 wildfires. Their new contract also expands education funding.

Rachel Eggleton, a certified nursing assistant at the hospital, said workers rallied over Memorial Day weekend when contract negotiations stalled and the community members showed their support.

"Once they saw us out in the rain rallying," she said, "they realized, 'OK, maybe there's something wrong. Maybe we need to help out our health-care workers, because they've been there through thick and thin for the entire pandemic, regardless of whatever's happening.' We still provided the care that they needed."

Eggleton said this support has been key.

"Getting everybody involved and getting the community involved," she said, "it will always bring us better things."

A new Minnesota law, which goes into effect Sunday, removes requirements restricting Social Security recipients from receiving full jobless benefits as well.

Bill sponsors noted Minnesota was the last state to have the offset requirement. It reduced by 50% unemployment aid for laid-off workers who, within the first year, either received or started to apply for Social Security.

Kate Schaefers, volunteer state president of AARP Minnesota, said it had a profound effect on older workers as the pandemic began to take shape. She pointed to testimony from a Rochester man who had worked part-time in retail and lost his job but had no unemployment benefits to supplement his income.

"He told us that he cut back on expenses, including his medication, because he couldn't afford them living just off of his Social Security check," Schaefers recounted.

Schaefers pointed out they are disappointed the changes are not retroactive, leaving out many residents devastated by the crisis. But she noted supporters secured a compromise with the Senate by starting the repeal date this year, as opposed to waiting longer to appease concerns about the unemployment fund's balance.

Schaefers said looking ahead, the repeal will be beneficial to the growing number of older adults who cannot afford to solely rely on their pension in the face of rising consumer costs.

"This is a key part of their retirement ... continued work," Schaefers explained. "This is going to benefit them if they get laid off; that they can access those unemployment benefits."

The group estimated 16% of Minnesotans 62 and older receiving Social Security are still in the labor force. It added the benefits are modest, averaging nearly $1,600 a month in Minnesota.

The so-called "great resignation" isn't playing out for all workers. A new survey covering North Dakota and Minnesota shows people on the lower end of the income scale face obstacles in jumping to other job opportunities.

The Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, along with Community Action agencies in both states, heard from more than 200 individuals, mainly working in social services, education and health care. Most expressed a desire to move up the career ladder, but said they lack the resources to learn new skills, or that expenses such as child care get in the way.

Erick Garcia Luna, regional outreach director at the Minneapolis Fed, said it becomes more pronounced for people earning very little in their current job.

"If a family is making minimum wage," he said, "they're going to have a harder time taking the time, for example, to get trained for another job."

Nearly 60% of respondents making between $10,000 and $25,000 dollars a year said it's either "somewhat or very difficult" to make an occupational change. Community Action Partnership of North Dakota said the survey also revealed these individuals are finding it harder to meet basic needs amid rising inflation, but also can't afford to pursue a better-paying job.

Ashley Littlewolf, workforce development case manager lead at the Southeastern North Dakota Community Action Agency, said she sees a lot of overlap with these barriers.

"They're feeding each other, the barriers are increasing each other," she said. "That need for new skills, and then finding the day care - and also, the jobs not paying enough."

While some employers are offering better pay, Littlewolf said the findings should prompt more action to boost starting wages. She said expanding the hiring pool can help, too.

"Taking a chance on someone who may not have that experience," she said, "but offering on-site training, offering the opportunity for them to enter that career path without the experience or education."