Time For A Raise

We Need an International Minimum Wage : Gawker

editor — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:11:00 +0000

By Hamilton Nolan

The deadly collapse of a garment factory in Bangladesh has sparked calls for better worker treatment. The revelation that Apple manages to avoid almost all taxes has drawn vague calls for tax reform. A more direct path to fairness: let’s just have a reasonable international minimum wage.

A fair minimum wage is a measure of decency : Chicago Sun-Times

editor — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:35:08 +0000

By Jesse Jackson

The April jobs report has been hailed as good news by the nation’s newspapers. But a look under the numbers is more sobering. In Chicago and cities across the country, extreme poverty remains high, and the jobless still haunt our streets.

Washington would rather sell optimism. We’ve seen 38 straight months of private-sector jobs growth. The stock market is at record heights. Corporate profits are setting records as a percentage of the economy. Compared with Europe and Japan, the U.S. is doing well.

The conservative case for raising the minimum wage : Salon

editor — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:09:07 +0000

Congress is currently considering bipartisan legislation providing an amnesty for America’s 11 million illegal immigrants, probably combined with extra visas for skilled workers and an agricultural guestworker program. But principled liberals and conservatives should both demand that any immigration reform proposal also include a sharp rise in the federal minimum wage.

The reason is simple. Any increase in the supply or job mobility of willing workers will tend to benefit Capital at the expense of Labor, stifling any growth in working-class wages, especially given our high unemployment rates. The last 40 years have seen a huge increase in immigration, and it is hardly coincidental that median American wages have been stagnant or declining throughout most of this same period. A large boost in the minimum wage, perhaps to $12 an hour or more, would be the best means of reversing our current economic race to the bottom.

Workers Strike Over Federal Contracts And Low Wage Jobs In D.C. : Huffington Post

editor — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:54:37 +0000

WASHINGTON — Tyrika Meade started working at the sunglass stand in Union Station six weeks ago. She said she earns $8.25 an hour on an irregular schedule.

“I like the job but the pay is just not right,” Meade, 19, said in an interview.

So she joined an estimated 150 workers striking Tuesday to protest low wages at workplaces that are funded by federal contracts. She said an organizer had approached her recently while she was working. “They said in order to get higher pay we need people to actually protest against the fact that we are getting paid minimum wage,” she said.

Goodwill Minimum Wage Loophole Will Shock You : Huffington Post

editor — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:19:06 +0000

By John Hrabe

Goodwill Industries is the worst charity in America. Yes, the same Goodwill that you just gave all of your old clothing to. Yes, the same Goodwill where you bargain-hunt on the weekends. Yes, the same Goodwill that Beyoncé is encouraging her fans to support with “donation drives at her North American concerts.”

In a recent investigation for Watchdog.org, I reported that a majority of Goodwill entities in the United States pay people with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage, while these same Goodwills simultaneously spend tens of millions of dollars per year on executive compensation and travel-related expenses.

Striking Milwaukee workers demand $15 minimum wage : MSNBC

editor — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:36:16 +0000

The nationwide flood of labor uprisings in the fast food industry hit Milwaukee, Wis., on Wednesday morning when workers at several major fast food and retail chains commenced a day-long strike.

As in other cities where similar strikes have occurred, Milwaukee-based employees at companies such as McDonald’s and TJ Maxx are demanding a minimum wage of $15 an hour and the right to form a union. Organizers estimate that by the end of the day, between 150 and 200 workers may have joined the work stoppage.