Who Does Our Scheduling System Work For? 👀👀👀 (From the Archives, 12-22-2022)

C.I.S. Workers United Newsletter

Is your schedule different every week? Does your paycheck fluctuate too? Have you ever wondered why this is? Before you chalk this up to the unchangeable nature of our jobs, we need to talk about “Just-In-Time” scheduling.

For individual CIS employees, this scheduling system results in different blocks of time when we are assigned to different participants. Sometimes there are large gaps between shifts, and sometimes not enough time between assignments. Sometimes we are scheduled with many participants, and other times we are scheduled with very few. For these reasons, our work and our hours can be inconsistent. On the ground, everyone is scrambling to cover shifts, work around changing schedules, and manage cancellations. Many of us can't seem to get enough hours, and participants barely manage to get coverage. But in the end, all shifts are covered every day, every week, and all participants are billed.

So, whose needs does this scheduling system really meet?

What was just described is called “Just-In-Time” scheduling. This scheduling approach allows CIS to collect all the billing revenue with no risk. From the employer’s perspective, this is great: they have a full workforce for a fraction of the cost of full-time workers! Workers get to feel the burden of full-timers with only part-time “benefits.”

This chaotic existence is a systemic problem, one that CIS has chosen to use to maximize profits while minimizing the costs of running the business. And we the workers are treated like a cost that needs to be reduced.

C.I.S. Workers United is dedicated to fighting for a fair schedule, a secure paycheck, and a sustainable workplace. CIS does not have to use “Just-In-Time” scheduling — we can demand change. JOIN US to make CIS a better organization for its employees and the participants we support.

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Interested in talking to a C.I.S. Workers United member? Want to know more or have questions? Send us an email at unitedcisworkers@gmail.com or message us on social media and we will be in touch!