In 2017, through a special partnership with the Warehouse Worker Resource Center (WWRC), Worksafe helped launch the California Alliance for Secure Employment (CASE), an informal network of organizations focused on improving workplace conditions and rights for temporary and contingent workers.
In a milestone for the alliance, CASE held a second annual convening this past November in Oakland. Organized with the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, National Employment Law Project, Southern California COSH, WWRC, and Working Partnerships USA, the CASE convening brought together 49 staff members from 32 organizations for a full day of discussion on issues related to precarious work.
Attendees discussed the broad implications of an economy where jobs are increasingly precarious and insecure, as well as the particular issues faced by contingent workers such as day laborers, domestic workers, temporary workers, misclassified workers, retail workers with unpredictable schedules, and black workers facing barriers to employment from racial discrimination.
The group shared common excitement for collaborating on a broad platform for secure work, and brainstormed strategies and priorities for shared work in the years ahead. Moving forward, CASE will continue developing a long-term agenda while engaging in current organizing and policy campaigns on specific issues such as discrimination, retaliation, and misclassification – with a particular focus on the legislative fight in Sacramento this year to codify the Dynamex test for employee status.
If you would like to learn more about CASE or to join the coalition’s efforts, please contact Worksafe Staff Attorney Tim Shadix at tshadix@worksafe.org.
