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Tag: Minimum Wage

  • Facebook Pushes $15 Minimum Wage, Other Benefits for Cooks, Janitors, and Security Workers

    Facebook Pushes $15 Minimum Wage, Other Benefits for Cooks, Janitors, and Security Workers

    Wage disparity is a problem everywhere but it might just be more visible in a place like Silicon Valley, where employees at tech companies often make six figures while those who support their very existence make much, much less.

    Facebook has just announced that it has implemented “a new set of standards on benefits for contractors and vendors who support Facebook in the US and do a substantial amount of work with us.”

    The new benefits for Facebook contractors include a $15 minimum wage and a minimum 15 paid days off for holidays, sick time and vacation.

    Also, contractors who don’t already get some sort of paid parental leave will get a $4,000 “new child benefit”.

    “We’ve been working on these changes for some months and had originally planned to announce this last Monday. Effective May 1, we’ve already put these standards in place for some of our largest support teams at our Menlo Park headquarters. We will be working to implement this program with a broader set of vendors within the year. This broader group will include workers who do substantial work for Facebook and who are employed by companies based in the US with more than 25 employees supporting Facebook,” said Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.

    Facebook didn’t say exactly how many people would be affected by the new policy, but the Wall Street Journal reports that it will cover “food-service, security and janitorial workers, among others, at its U.S. facilities.” Facebook says it wants to expand the program to other contractors in the coming years.

    “Taking these steps is the right thing to do for our business and our community. Women, because they comprise about two-thirds of minimum wage workers nationally, are particularly affected by wage adjustments. Research also shows that providing adequate benefits contributes to a happier and ultimately more productive workforce,” said Sandberg.

    Facebook isn’t the first company to take a step like this. Both Apple and Google have promised to make security staff full-time employees (with benefits), Google improved wages for shuttle bus drivers, and Microsoft gave basic-level benefits to “tens of thousands” of contract workers.

    Image via Facebook Menlo Park

  • Chicago $15 Minimum Wage Could Happen

    Chicago $15 Minimum Wage Could Happen

    If a group of Chicago aldermen’s plans prove successful, the minimum wage for the Illinois city could be increased to $15 per hour.

    The officials worked to introduce a proposal on Wednesday that would boost the city’s minimum wage.

    It’s been noted that a separate minimum wage proposal was put together by a panel Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed.

    That panel included aldermen in addition to Chicago business leaders and labor officials.

    It’s also possible that a minimum wage hike could come by way of a vote in November.

    Reports indicate that Illinois voters might be asked whether or not it’s desirable to see the minimum wage increased to $10 per hour from the current $8.25.

    “Study after study demonstrates that when you put money into the pockets of consumers, they spend it,” said Alderman Ricardo Munoz. “They don’t hoard it in their mattresses.”

    The logic behind the hike is that providing Chicago workers with a minimum wage that increases one’s “livable wages” means that in addition to having an easier time paying necessary bills, there will be enough money left to spend on local businesses.

    These businesses would in turn be able to better pay employees at every level.

    At least, this is the hope behind minimum wage hikes that are taking place across the country.

    President Barack Obama wants Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.

    Upwards of 38 states could be making adjustments to the minimum wage in the coming years.

    Michigan intends to raise their minimum wage to $9.25 per hour by the year 2018.

    For Chicago, the move is meant to keep the city competitive as the standard of living is among the highest in the state.

    Not everyone is thrilled with the idea of a minimum wage hike. The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce believes such an increase would put the state of Illinois, and most especially Chicago, “at a competitive disadvantage”.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Switzerland $25 Minimum Wage Voted Against

    Switzerland voted Sunday to reject a measure called the Decent Salary Initiative, that would establish a minimum wage of $4,515 per month in that country, with 76.3% of voters opposed to the idea.

    The proposed monthly minimum wage equates to roughly $25 per hour, which would be the highest in the world. Proponents called the wage hike necessary, while opponents felt that it would seriously damage the Swiss economy.

    Hans-Ulrich Bigler, director of the Swiss trades association, commented that “It is a clear vote by the people, a vote of trust in the economy.” The Decent Salary Initiative would benefit roughly 300,000 Swiss workers, with the vast majority being immigrants working in agriculture, housekeeping and catering jobs.

    Swiss voters turn out:

    At present, 90% of Swiss workers already earn more than the proposed $25 per hour, with the average wage being roughly $37 an hour, though union leaders in the country of 8 million will continue to push for higher wage rates for unskilled laborers, which are still some of the highest paid in the world. Though the average household income in Switzerland is about $6,800 per month (as compared to $4,300 in the United States), that country likewise features some of the highest prices for goods and services worldwide.

    The Swiss Business Federation president Heinz Karrer commented that the landslide result in the poll revealed that “the initiative hurts low-paid workers in particular.” Voters realized that forcing wage hikes could lead to job cuts, and Switzerland’s 3.2% unemployment rate is among the lowest globally.

    Luisa Almeida, an immigrant from Portugal who works in Switzerland as a housekeeper commented, “If my employer had to pay me more money, he wouldn’t be able to keep me on and I’d lose the job.”

    In April a minimum wage referendum was on the table in the United States Senate. Democrats had pushed for a $10.10 hourly minimum, which was promptly shut down by the GOP.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Republican Party Must Back Minimum Wage Hike

    “For all the Republicans who come on and talk about, ‘we’re for the blue-collar worker, we’re for the working person,’ there are some basic things that we should be for. One of them is reasonable increases from time to time in the minimum wage.”

    That was no liberal making that statement. That was Republican and former Minnesota governor, Tim Pawlenty, a man that some Republicans once wanted to see in the race for President. Pawlenty made the statement on MSNBC’s Morning Joe program.

    Pawlenty added, “If you’re going to talk the talk about being for the middle class and the working person, if we have the minimum wage, it should be reasonably adjusted from time to time.”

    According to the Washington Post, when Pawlenty was governor of Minnesota, he signed one minimum wage law into effect, but vetoed another. Minnesota’s minimum wage had long been one of the lowest in the country.

    In the recent dust-up between Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate over minimum wage increases, a lot has been about midterm electioneering. Republicans just handed the Dems a party-line vote that prevented a bill raising the federal Minimum Wage to $10.10 from coming to the floor.

    It is not likely that Democrats expected or even really wanted that bill to make it to the floor. Rather, they wanted that issue to be in the minds of Americans as they consider who to vote for in the upcoming midterms.

    Pawlenty himself is now head of the Financial Services Roundtable. He clarified that he would not support the bill that was recently in consideration in the Senate.

    “(W)hile I support reasonable increases in the minimum wage, the proposal being presented by the Senate majority goes too far and too fast,” the former governor said. “I wish [Democrats] would work with Republicans to find a reasonable compromise on this issue.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Buffalo Bills Cheerleaders Want (At Least) Minimum Wage

    Five former cheerleaders have filed suit over wages against the Buffalo Bills. The team currently classifies cheerleaders as independent contractors, not as employees, thereby bypassing minimum wage requirements. The court may challenge their status, according to Tarnished Twenty, if it finds that “the organization gives a worker instructions on how to perform work, controls the work hours, tells the worker what to wear, and exercises a good amount of control over the worker.”

    In addition to wage complaints, the Jills were required to attend special functions in bikinis and be “auctioned off” to event guests. The team also dictated many aspects of the girls’ personal lives from nail polish and personal hygiene to social media posts. One cheerleader describes “a jiggle test to see what parts of our body were jiggling, and if that was something that she saw, you were getting benched.”

    The cheerleaders and their lawyer, Frank Dolce, still consider themselves Bills fans: “We definitely want our organization and other organizations in the NFL to respect the rights of these cheerleaders.”

    Other fans share their wish and have offered their support in the form of tweets:

    The Deadspin article went on to cite the official complaint regarding the infamous “jiggle test”:

    62. In addition, the Jills were subjected to weekly “physique evaluations” during which defendants’ representatives tested the Jills’ bodies for “jiggling.” During the “Jiggle Test” defendants scrutinized the women’s stomach, arms, legs, hips, and butt while she does jumping jacks. The physique evaluations largely determine whether or not any particular Jill would be allowed to perform at the Bills’ next home game. Jills that failed to meet defendants’ physical standards received warnings, and in some cases were penalized, suspended or dismissed.

    Add this to fact the one cheerleader was “told to ‘tone up’ her body after one such evaluation. She began a stringent diet and exercise plan, only to be accused later of anorexia.” Plus, the pay ranges from $1,800 to $150 for the entire season, way below New York State’s minimum wage of eight dollars an hour. Other complaints can be read on the official summons:

    Buffalo Jills Suit

    For a look into what it takes to be a Buffalo Bills cheerleader, check out the YouTube video below. However, unless this suit is successful, be warned: the pay is terrible.

    Image via WIVBTV, YouTube

  • Michigan Minimum Wage Increase Praised by Obama

    President Barack Obama spoke at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Wednesday and praised the state’s ongoing effort to raise minimum wage.

    Obama addressed a crowd of about 1,400 that included many students. He called for support in raising the state minimum wage to $10.10 from $7.40 by 2017. Democrats in the U.S. Senate are planning a vote for the raise, but Republicans and GOP lawmakers are mostly working to block the wage hike.

    Raise Michigan, a coalition of civil rights, faith, labor and community groups, wants voters to decide instead. The organization needs to gather 258,000 valid signatures by late next month to put before the state’s legislature a measure that would raise minimum wage to $10.10 by 2017, and automatically increase it with inflation in future years. The minimum wage for tipped employees would gradually increase from $2.65 until it reaches the minimum wage for other workers.

    “People in Michigan shouldn’t be working full time and still living in poverty,” said Ryan Bates, one of the organizers of the Raise Michigan effort.

    “The issue resonates deeply. Everyone understands what it means to work hard but not get ahead,” Bates said.

    If Raise Michigan secures the required number of signatures and state lawmakers do not act on the measure, it would head to a statewide vote in November.

    “It would help millions more work their way out of poverty right away,” Obama said in his speech.

    “It’s easy to remember — 10, 10. It will lift millions of people out of poverty,” Obama said.

    Nationally, Obama wants to raise the federal hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 by 2016.

    If the minimum wage were raised, it would raise wages for 28 million people across the nation, including almost one million people in Michigan, the president said.

    The president’s speech came just one day after the Obama administration received positive news that its Affordable Health Care Act beat expectations for its first year of enrollment. The deadline for participants to enroll for coverage for this year was March 31.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Fast Food Protests Focus on Wage Theft

    Fast Food Protests Focus on Wage Theft

    Hundreds of McDonald’s employees took to the streets on Tuesday to protest a variety of complaints, not the least of which is wage theft.

    The Associated Press reports that protests were originally part of a larger effort to focus on what some see as a need to increase the minimum wage in the U.S. Minimum wage currently stands at a Federally mandated $7.25 an hour. Protesters argue that this wage level, even for a full-time employee, still leads to workers qualifying for government assistance in the form of SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps), Medicaid, and other programs.

    Some economists point out that paying such a wage amounts to a hidden government subsidy for businesses that do so, since their workers’ needs are not met through pay for their hours worked, but through supplements from taxpayers.

    But the focus for these protests turned keenly to the more recent point of wage theft, thanks to lawsuits brought against McDonalds Corporation and some of its franchise operators.

    Some McDonalds employees say that they are being cheated out of overtime pay by such practices as unfair clocking. In this scenario, employees are told to clock out during slow periods at the restaurant, but to remain on the premises and ready to clock back in when customers arrive. Thus the employee is still in uniform, at work, can not leave, but is not being paid.

    In one Boston protest, marchers waved signs and chanted, “Every nickel, every dime, we deserve our overtime!”

    The National Restaurant Association, a trade group funded by moneys from the parent corporations of McDonalds and other fast food industry players, called the demonstrations “orchestrated union PR events where the vast majority of participants are activists and paid demonstrators.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Gap Hourly Wage Raise In Store For US Employees

    Gap is a pretty hip and progressive retailer, and perhaps that is what makes it so popular with young people and new families. The company is known for doing good via charities and outreach programs, the most recent example being the P.A.C.E. program, which aims to bring education, training, and recognition to female garment workers. Gap has no problem with using its retail power for progressive good, and has opted to do so once more, this time with a focus on the US.

    Recent arguments and debates about the minimum wage in the United States have gained massive visibility, with examples ranging from president Obama’s proposed legislation to raise the minimum wage to worker’s demonstrations and strikes in demand for a “living wage.” Gap has decided to stake its own claim in the midst of this discussion, by promising to raise the minimum wage for its workers to $9 an hour in 2014, and $10 an hour by 2015.

    Gap announced its intentions through both its official Twitter and Facebook, using the tagline and “mantra of their founder,” “Do more than sell clothes.”

    Post by Gap.

    The move is a bold one that definitely makes a statement, and has garnered a lot of attention across social media. Most notably, the White House official Twitter tweeted a quote from President Obama that congratulated Gap for raising the wages for its employees, which the Gap Twitter graciously responded to.

    This is an important milestone in the fight for a living wage for workers, and is hopefully the first of many instances of large retailers taking steps to provide a substantial, appropriate income for its workers.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons.

  • Minimum Wage Hike – $11.50 for Federal Rate?

    Minimum Wage Hike – $11.50 for Federal Rate?

    As this country has lived through, and is still living through, one of the most devastating recessions of the past few decades, it has produced hardships that are much too common for American families.

    Americans in this economy have seen some hard hits with jobs becoming scarce, or none at all – and too many employed families who remain way below the poverty level.

    Raising the minimum wage could bring those full time workers, still receiving minimum wage, out of the poverty level and back to where they should be, able to live without government assistance.

    A policy research group suggesting raising the federal minimum wage above $10 an hour is saying in an updated report that doing so would boost, not harm, job creation.

    This legislation was introduced earlier this year by Senator Tom Harkin and Senator George Miller.

    As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the Washington, D.C. council approved the $11.50 minimum wage for just the city area, although some suggested a $10 minimum wage was a more reasonable middle ground.

    A $10 minimum wage is already in effect in California. Multiple states besides California have been proposing a $10 minimum wage that is higher than the Federal minimum wage of $7.25.

    Michigan pushed for a $10 minimum wage, and one Michigan restaurant already pays $12 hourly and is still making profits. Illinois already has the fourth highest state minimum wage of $8.25, but Illinois politicians want a $10 minimum in Illinois as well.

    The point is workers who put in 40 hours a week deserve to live without complete reliance on food stamps and welfare. If you work in America, educated or not, you should be able to support your family.

    But would the $11.50 minimum wage be seen as a fair Federal minimum wage based upon economic data? In analysis collected and analyzed by economist John Schmitt at the Center for Economic and Policy Research proves that if the minimum wage is indexed to the official Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), then the Federal minimum wage should be $10.52 an hour.

    President Obama is on board for the $10.10 increase. The jury is still out on the $11.50 proposal.

    “We are very pleased President Obama endorsed a $10 an hour minimum wage bill,” Aaron Albright, a spokesman for Miller, said in an email. “This action unites all Democrats and minimum wage advocates behind one proposal that addresses income inequality in a powerful way. Congress must move to raise the minimum wage now.”

    And from President Obama, from his State of the Union Address – “Even with the tax relief we’ve put in place, a family with two kids that earns the minimum wage still lives below the poverty line. That’s wrong,” Obama said. “Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full time should have to live in poverty.”

    Still, critics of the proposal to raise the minimum wage argue that even the $10 minimum wage is a “jobs killer,” and claim a higher Federal minimum wage will result in a worsened unemployment rate.

    Anyone concerned for the millions of struggling Americans, instead of concern for the companies that are famous for paying minimum wage – McDonald’s, Wal-Mart and others who are some of the wealthiest corporations in America, these corporations should be required to pay the wage increase, and then some.

    Image via YouTube

  • Minimum Wage Hike: Will There Be More Jobs or Less?

    According to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted by Langer Research Associates, two-thirds of the United States populace supports an increase in minimum wage. Many claim that basic livelihood necessities cannot be met with the current payment structure in place. In fact, 48 percent of those polled are “strongly” supportive of an increase while only 20 percent are “strongly” against an increase in minimum wage.

    For example, Pennsylvania Representative Mark Cohen (D) has been vocal about supporting an increase in minimum wage within his state. “The employer community would prefer tax cuts, but we’ve already had massive business tax cuts in Pennsylvania. That’s one reason we’re in such poor financial shape. We can’t afford all the subsidies, starting with Medicaid, that go to low-income workers. If we raise the minimum wage, we encourage spending among low-income people. That creates jobs and reduces welfare spending.” Cohen said before adding, “Obviously, at some point there’s an increase in prices, but there’s also an increase in purchases. A store can’t unilaterally announce it’s raising salaries, but if all the other stores have to do it,” collective pressure would change the ending result to increased spending from a higher-paid workforce.

    However, there are critiques to raising minimum wage. One argument asserts that businesses will be forced to make significant layoffs in order to remain financially healthy. By increasing the amount each employee will receive the total amount of employees will decrease in order to maintain the bottom line. Still this mentality appears to be the minority as evidenced by results from the recent poll where 64 percent claimed that present policies support the wealthy.

    The federal minimum wage is currently set at $7.25 and has been since July 24, 2009. Some states have already opted to offer higher minimum wages. There are 24 states that currently operate under the federal minimum wage guidelines. These states are as follows: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • $11.50 Minimum Wage: Some Officials Skeptical of the Decision

    After nearly a year of protesting and organized demonstrations, fast-food and retail workers have finally received changes that definitely rule in their favor.

    The Washington City Council announced on Tuesday, Dec. 17, that the decision to raise minimum wage to $11.50 was unanimously approved.

    According to the NY Times, the new hourly pay rate which was increased from an $8.25 minimum, is one of the highest in a number of American cities. The $11.50 minimum wage rate is scheduled to go into effect in 2016, and will be indexed accordingly based on the level of inflation.

    Although the decision was unanimous, there was one democratic voice that opposed the wage hike. Mayor Vincent Gray stated that he opposed the change simply because there is no definitive way to determine how the change would affect the labor market. Gray recommended that minimum wage increased to just $10. However, Gray’s one veto wasn’t substantial enough to sway the decision as the unanimous vote still allowed the council to pass the measure.

    “The DC Council could vote on the $11.50 per hour minimum wage within the next week or two and to do so would be wrong. I hope our elected officials can reverse their trend of misguided and arbitrary business decisions,” the Reuters blog said. “That is far too high of a number and clearly would not have the impact on District residents that proponents have suggested.”

    Reuters reports that a plan was formulated by the District of Columbia Chambers of Commerce more than three years ago to move forward with the minimum wage increase, but the measure only started to progress recently.

    With the minimum wage increase, millions of workers across the region will see a slight surge in earning, while the market shifts to balance out the increase. By 2016, other states may incorporate such changes. However, there are still many concerns and reservations over the raising minimum wage more than $3.00 an hour. While more regions will probably make strides to approve such measures, skepticism may play a major role in the passing of the law in other regions, due to the evident long-term labor market uncertainties.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons | Food Strikes

  • $11.50 Minimum Wage For D.C. In 2016

    In the fight to raise America’s minimum wage, no one was probably betting on the state of Maryland to lead the way. In the nation’s capital, the D.C. Council voted to raise the local minimum wage from $8.25 per hour to $11.50 per hour. The measure is expected to be approved by Democratic Mayor Vincent Gray.

    There was concern that Gray would fight the wage hike, as he had already expressed concerns that such a drastic increase in hourly wages would negatively impact local businesses. Gray had also already vetoed a previous bill that would have seen hourly wages increase to over $12.50 an hour. It seems that a dollar off that amount is a compromise willing to be had as no one is expecting a veto.

    Across the nation, battle lines are being drawn as those working for minimum wage march and protest, saying that what is offered at minimum wage is just not enough to live on. Their argument is that the only way to allow more Americans to stay above the poverty line would be to raise earning dollars for the poorest of working Americans. Fast food workers are demanding $15 an hour. At the same time, Congress gearing up to discuss passage of an Obama-backed bill that would raise federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.

    The spotlight remains on the state of Maryland, where aside from the District of Columbia, Prince George’s County and Montgomery County have also voted to raise the minimum wage to $11.50. The difference is that both counties hope to gradually increase minimum wage by 2017 rather than 2016. There is talk that the unanimous effort was meant to ensure increases in all locations.

    New York looks stingy by comparison, where next year the state will see the minimum wage increase to $8.00 per hour. The state expects to reach $9.00 per hour by 2015.

    Nearly 5% of America’s workforce receives hourly wages at around minimum wage. These individuals also tend to be enrolled in government aid programs such as welfare, food stamps, and Medicaid.

    Image via Wikimedia

  • $11.50 Minimum Wage: Sound Nice?

    Community leaders in Seattle have vocalized desires to raise minimum wage, and now leaders in Maryland have instigated the process to implement policies that increase wages. Presently, the federal minimum wage is set at $7.25 per hour though some states have set the level higher. On December 17, 2013, a representative from Prince George’s County signed a document to increase minimum wage in the area to $11.50 by 2017. Likewise, another county in Maryland (Montgomery County) signed documents to also increase minimum wage.

    Economic Policy Institute analyst David Cooper said, “We estimate that only about 10 percent of the workers earning less than $12 per hour in Montgomery County are teens.”

    According to the president and CEO of the chamber of commerce for Prince George’s County, David Harrington, there needs to be a balance between satisfying the needs of employees and determining the functioning level of viability for employers. “Clearly there’s a need for an increase, but what is the level to which businesses can still create jobs even while paying a higher wage,” Harrington said in an interview with CNNMoney.

    The city council for Washington D.C. also approved increasing the minimum wage to $11.50 an hour on Tuesday. The bill will now be sent to Mayor Vincent Gray who has been outspoken against raising the minimum wage to an amount as high as $11.50. Mayor Gray had previously proposed increasing the minimum wage to $10 an hour in order to determine how an increase would influence the labor market. While Mayor Gray has the potential to veto this bill, the council could then opt to override the veto.

    Council member Tommy Wells spoke about his support for this legislation. , “I had the leadership to get nine votes…I led the first bill to show I could get this done. I promised I’d get this done, and I’m getting it done today,” Wells said.

    Council member Vincent B. Orange said, “This is legislation introduced by me.” Orange added that the underlying support behind this process is “not leaving people behind” in the midst of the present economic climate.

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • Fast Food Workers Across America Continue Strike

    Across the United States, fast food workers have been striking in an effort to draw attention to their low wage problem. Minimum wage in America is currently $7.25 an hour. According to fastfoodfoward.org, the website built in support of the strike, this amount is far too little for anyone to survive on.

    “While fast food corporations reap the benefits of record profits, workers are barely getting by,” reads the homepage. Who hasn’t notice the uptick in “dollar menus” across the fast food industry? As the recession reduced available spending money, a cheap burger to go made more sense than a larger, more expensive meal. Even as the industry successfully weathered the bad economy, pay for the people on the frontlines of these fast food chains has failed to budge.

    Frustrated, workers have taken to the streets with signs and demands for change. Protests have occurred in over a hundred cities. The vast majority of protests took place in the eastern half of the United States. The largest pocket of protests seem to be in the state of Michigan.

    Despite the wide array of people who turned out to strike, a misconception still exists in America where fast food jobs are worked by pimple-faced teenagers still living at home. Many fast food workers are adults and a disconcerting number of them are college graduates. Billions of dollars of aid is often needed to support persons employed as fast food workers.

    Despite the success of drawing attention to their plight, bringing about change is going to be very hard for protesters. First, the higher-ups at many of the fast food chains have said that it is the local franchise owners that determine the wages, not the companies themselves. Second, there are millions of workers across different companies, cities, franchises. Organizing with the intent to unionize will be very difficult.

    It is simply hoped by strikers that shining a light on the desperate situation of the fast food workers will perhaps be enough to make something happen.

    Image: Fast Food Forward Facebook

  • $10 Minimum Wage to be in California by 2016

    Reuters reported via NBC News this morning that minimum wage workers in California would see their wages rise a dollar a year from $8 today to $10 in January 2016.

    California Republicans argued that hiking minimum wages would hurt the smaller employers, or the “mom and pop operations” as they said. Many business-friendly Democrats were also skeptical, as was Gov. Brown at first. But when the bill was amended to give the specific date of January 2016 to have a $10 minimum wage, most found themselves in support. One Democrat assemblyman who was initially against the bill, Al Muratsuchi, said that “this time I’m supporting this bill because it is a compromise… It gives employers predictability to plan for the higher labor costs.”

    Although no states currently legislate a minimum of $10 wages, the highest minimum is currently Washington with $9.19, and several states are thinking about following in California’s footsteps.

    Regardless of what businesses California Republicans are claiming will take a hit from increased wages, it is giant multinationals like McDonald’s and Wal-Mart that possess the loudest voices in the room. The 24/7 Wall St. version of the story via Yahoo Finance has the big corporations painting a higher minimum wage as wrecking their profits and making it impossible to take care of shareholders, but pressure from voters can have an interesting effect when it comes to reducing the power of lobby dollars.

    Some businesses are even thinking they can just wait out the fury, because worker-friendly movements like Occupy Wall Street have a tendency to fizzle and fade away like a forgotten trend. But the biggest problem with Occupy Wall Street revolved around their leaderless lack of direction and focus with regard to any one societal ill. The California wage fight has a focused goal (the transformation of a minimum wage into a living wage), and businesses should go ahead and acknowledge the writing on the wall: that $7.25/hour is not a living wage for anyone, and that’s a fact.

    [Image via a PBS news story on YouTube about Jerry Brown’s budget balancing initiatives]

  • Fast Food Workers Strike Largest Yet

    Fast food workers across 60 US cities staged their planned walkout Thursday and while the day amassed the largest strike yet, actual turnout is yet to be determined. Protest goals involved the right to unionize without employer interference and $15/hr pay (the federal minimum wage is currently $7.25/hr). Organizers set the common date about a week ago.

    Fast Food Forward Ad

    Though worker turnout was large, it varied. Some restaurants faced shortages in employees that affected business, though temporarily, and customers experienced longer wait times. Customers generally understood the reasons for the strikes, if they’d heard about them at all, but not all were necessarily supportive of the $15/hr goal. And customers did not appear to be deterred from their burgers and fries.

    Higher prices for customers and fewer openings for job seekers are among the arguments the restaurant industry makes against raising wages. The chains offer examples of employees who have climbed the ladder to successful (higher paying) jobs and cite the training opportunities that are available.

    Some elected and government officials came out in support of the protesters. In a statement to the Associated Press, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez called out the strikes as a sign that the minimum wage is too low: “For all too many people working minimum wage jobs, the rungs on the ladder of opportunity are feeling further and further apart.” Other politicians, such as New York City mayoral candidate Christine Quinn, were seen walking side-by-side with the protesters (and potential voters).

    Several community and union organizations are pulling the strings behind the movement, which will undoubtedly continue beyond the Labor Day weekend. The Service Employees International Union, which claims “the cutting edge of progressive activism,” trains local organizers for such events. Getting most of the credit is the organization Low Pay Is Not Ok, which sponsors a petition, an open letter to fast food chains, a checklist for the strike for $15 and other resources on their web and social media sites. They also support offspring organizations and events such as Fight for 15. Regionally-focused groups such as Fast Food Forward in New York round out the backers. Protests started in New York last November.

    Social media is exploding in support of the #829strike and organizers used it to rally the troops. No mention yet of next steps for the movement.

    [Video and Images via KTTV Los Angeles, Facebook.]

  • Minimum Wage Debate Strikes a Date

    Minimum Wage Debate Strikes a Date

    August 29 is the day you may want to pack a lunch.  Fast food workers are joining the social media stampede calling for a nationwide strike on August 29, four days before Labor Day.  Demands are for an hourly wage of $15 and, “the right to form a union without retaliation,” posts organizer Low Pay Is Not Ok.  The group also sponsors a petition on their site along with a robust Facebook and Twitter campaign.

    Employee walkouts over the last few months were spurred by these demands for a living wage—proposed to be $15 an hour—over the standard fast food salary based on the US minimum wage—$7.25 an hour.  This activity in turn, is cooking up a spectrum of responses across the political sphere.

    CEO’s are balancing on either side of the minimum wage solution. Along with select other CEO’s, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has landed in favor of minimum wage hikes, though not necessarily to $15/hour. Denny’s CEO John Miller explains an industry problem reporting higher salaries among employees when industry turnover rates are so high. “The benefit of this industry is we’re one of the largest employers of those who don’t have a good start otherwise,” Miller says during a Breakout interview last month.

    President Barack Obama has made increasing the minimum wage a long-standing administration goal that has failed to gain traction in Congress.

    A 9 August Bureau of Labor Statistics Study adds the cost of benefits into the combo meal. The study compares compensation costs across 33 countries, placing the United States 12th behind Sweden, Brazil, and Estonia in total compensation (wages and employer expenditures such as health insurance).

    The debate promises to remain as heated as fast food wars.

  • $10 Minimum Wage Proposed by Michigan Democrats

    Michigan lawmakers are looking to raise their state’s minimum wage as debate heats up across the country over how the current rate and any changes to it would affect workers.

    The proposed bill looks to set the new minimum wage to $10 an hour, a change that would be gradually enacted over the next three years.

    The bill comes from Democratic representatives, specifically Reps. John Switalksi of Warren and Rashida Tlaib of Detroit. According to them, raising the minimum wage would would give Michigan workers “a chance at a better life.”

    According to the AP, past measures to raise the minimum wage in the state have seen opposition from Republicans, who currently control the legislature.

    The state of Michigan’s minimum wage is currently $7.40 an hour for all employers of 2 or more employees. Michigan workers are given overtime for hours exceeding 40 in a single week.

    The federal minimum wage sits at $7.25 an hour. 22 states have minimum wage laws the same as the federal wage, and 19 states have minimum wages higher than $7.25. 4 states currently have minimum wages that are less than the federal rate and 5 states currently have no minimum wage laws on the books.

    Recently, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said that the minimum wage would currently sit at $22 minimum if it had kept up with worker productivity. President Obama has proposed raising the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour.

  • $22 Minimum Wage Matches U.S. Productivity, Says Senator

    Though the minimum wage in the U.S. has risen in recent years, the current $7.25 per hour minimum wage is still looking sparse when considered next to the rising cost of living in the U.S. Large hikes in the minimum wage aren’t likely due to the messiness of congress, but at least one senator believes the minimum wage should be at least triple what it currently is.

    Last week, at a Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) Committee meeting, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren compared the rise in the minimum wage since the 60’s to the rise in American workers’ productivity. Speaking to a University of Massachusetts Amherst economics professor, Warren stated that if the minimum wage had kept pace with productivity, it would be $22 per hour today. Warren pointedly asked the professor, Arindrajit Dube, why this wasn’t the case.

    “My question, Mr. Dube, with a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, is what happened to the other $14.75,” asked Warren. “I sure didn’t go to the worker.”

    Dube backed up Warren’s math, and even stated that if minimum wage had kept pace with the rise in income of the top 1% of taxpayers that it would have been around $33, before the recent recession.

    Warren then went on to question David Rutigliano, owner of the Southport Brewing Company. Rutigliano took the side of small business owners, stating that his business doesn’t run the same way or with the same volume as a McDonalds, which Warren pointed out could weather a minimum wage hike with relative ease.