New Orleans voters approve ‘Workers’ Bill of Rights’ amendment

New Orleans will add an amendment to its charter that lists fair wages, comprehensive health care coverage, paid leave and other workplace benefits as fundamental rights for the city’s workforce after voters approved the measure on Tuesday.

Over 80 percent of voters favored the move.

The language is largely a symbolic values statement, supporters say. Employers in the city won’t be bound by it because the city’s charter doesn’t create any enforceable rights beyond what’s required under the U.S. Constitution.

But it’s still a major victory for everyday residents, said Britain Forsyth, legislative coordinator at Step Up Louisiana, which supported the measure.

“We’re in this really hostile environment at the state level against workers and the people of New Orleans,” Forsyth said. “The people in power in New Orleans need to know how we believe workers deserve to be treated here and what we believe in.”

Step Up Louisiana and other workers’ advocates brought the charter amendment idea to city council earlier this year. Indicators of its need, they argued, included stark income and health inequalities between predominantly Black and White neighborhoods throughout New Orleans.

They were also motivated by efforts in the state legislature to weaken state worker protections. The effort was unsuccessful despite a last-minute push from Gov. Jeff Landry to pass it at the end of the state’s legislative session.

The New Orleans campaign didn’t see any highly-visible opposition.

While the amendment’s passage is mostly symbolic, it could help guide future policy decisions, said Ben Zucker, co-director of Step-Up Louisiana.

“It can give direction for the city to pass future policies like a Healthy Workplace Initiative or a Workers’ Commission,” Zucker said. “It can create a framework and guidance for employers who are trying to do the right thing. And it can be a blueprint for workers who want to organize and make demands of their employers.”