Part-time retail workers want benefits normally reserved for full-time employees

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Retail Justice Alliance in partnership with the United Food and Commercial Workers held a hearing Thursday at the East LA College to highlight the problems that part-time workers in the retail industry face. The hearing presented a panel of people, including Los Angeles Congresswoman Judy Chu of the 27th District.

Part-time workers from various retail sectors sat in and participated in a question and answer period. Jeany Hile was in the audience. Hile has worked part time at Vons for almost 34 years and hasn't been made a full time employee in all these years.

"Every year I get an appraisal and every year I've asked for full time and the last couple of years I haven't said anything because it doesn't matter," Hile said.

Hile said she never knows how many hours she's going to work each week and is forced to pay her bills from paycheck to paycheck.

"I'm doing okay, but I'm 56 now so I guess I should think about retirement. But I don't have enough to save up," Hile said. She is a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers.

Connie M. Leyva, President of the UFCW Local 1428, said that 70-80 percent of its members are part time and not because they want to be.

"Our members are part time and not because they want to be part time because the companies will not guarantee them full time hours," Leyva said. "(The employers) always say they need flexibility, their worried about flexibility. We're worried about our members being able to feed our families."

Her biggest concern is the stability of guaranteed and regular work hours.

"Someone working fast food or shoe retail part time has no guarantee. One week they might have eight hours and the next week they might have 16 hours. There's no way to sustain themselves or a family," Levya said.

Congresswoman Judy Chu is in support of The Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights Act of 2013 HR675. This bill was introduced in Congress in February.