[blind-democracy] Re: $15 wage movement makes gains

  • From: Carl Jarvis <carjar82@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2015 09:39:21 -0700

Good old Tacoma, still peddling the worn out thinking that raising the
wage minimum hurts the economy, but starving workers are somehow good
for the city's well being
In fact, if the city an the state had kept pace with a living minimum
wage, the economy would be far healthier and any small adjustment to
the wage would not be noticed. Now, by the time $15 is achieved in
three to five years, it will be time to be advocating a rise to $20
per hour.
Another thought to hold onto is that we workers are always playing
"catchup" to the rising cost of living. And of course, we won't even
begin to get into the clever methods our government has devised to
muddy up the cost of living figures. The one that I just love the
most is: "The cost of living rose .09% this past month, excluding the
volatile cost of food and energy."
Like what else are most poor people spending their money on?
It's the old adage, figures don't lie, but liars sure can figure.

Carl Jarvis

On 7/22/15, Roger Loran Bailey <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

http://socialistaction.org/15-wage-movement-makes-gains/


$15 wage movement makes gains

Published July 21, 2015. | By Socialist Action.
July 2015 $15 Albany

By ANN MONTAGUE

June was a good month for the fight for a $15 minimum wage. On June
13, Los Angeles, the second largest city in the country, saw the mayor
sign the bill passed by the city council that raised the minimum wage
from $9 to $15 over the next five years. This will keep the city ahead
of the statewide minimum wage, which was raised to $10 in 2016.

The California State Assembly is now considering raising it to $13 in
2017. Last November, the people of San Francisco voted to increase the
minimum wage to $15 by 2018. And not to be outdone, a nearby city,
Emeryville, raised its minimum wage to $16 by 2019. On June 2, its city
council unanimously passed the ordinance, which will be adjusted
annually for inflation.

In the meantime, state officials in Arizona agreed to comply with a
court decision that cities have the right to raise their own minimum
wages. “The state threw in the towel, and they gave us fees to boot,”
said attorney Shawn Aiken, who along with attorney Mik Jordahl
represented the Flagstaff Living Wage Coalition.

The Flagstaff coalition had sued the state in April over a law that
prohibits cities from raising the minimum wage. Group members argued
that the cost of living in Flagstaff is nearly impossible to afford on
the state’s current minimum wage of $8.05 an hour.

Attorney General Mark Brnovich agreed to a Maricopa County Superior
Court judgment stating that the 2013 law limiting minimum-wage increases
conflicts with Proposition 202, a measure Arizona voters approved in
2006 allowing cities to regulate wages and benefits. The wages cannot be
lower than the state’s minimum wage.

June has not only seen raises on the West Coast but also in the
heartland of Missouri. In St. Louis, the mayor is proposing to phase in
$15 by 2020 from $7.65, which is the current state minimum wage. He is
under pressure since a preemption law will take effect in Missouri on
Aug. 28. This law will prevent cities from being able to raise their
minimum wage higher than that of the state.

The Kansas City mayor has also talked about a $15 minimum wage. The
state minimum wage is particularly abusive for tipped workers, who are
only paid one half of the minimum wage, $3.82 an hour.

Also in June, the New York State Wage Board held hearings on the effect
of the current minimum wage on fast-food workers. The hearings were held
in Buffalo, Albany, Garden City, and Manhattan. Fast-food workers,
clergy, and labor groups have been testifying for $15. The current state
minimum wage is $8.75 an hour.

The New York Labor Commissioner can raise wages of individual
occupations without legislative approval. The Restaurant Association in
New York opposes any raise in the minimum wage but realizes they cannot
compete with the well-organized workers’ movement and its allies, which
they refer to as a “dog and pony show.”

“It seems as though this is just a formality, that this is going to get
pushed through,” said Jay Holland, a spokesperson for the Restaurant
Association. “The business community feels like it’s being ignored.”

Some states and cities with strong movements for $15 are currently not
moving forward to increase the minimum wage through legislative or court
channels. But they have an accessible ballot measure system. The states
of Washington and Oregon have seen initiatives in this direction.

Tacoma, Wash., is in close proximity to two cities with a $15 minimum
wage. SeaTac was the first victorious ballot measure, and Seattle was
the first city to pass a $15 minimum wage measure. But the Tacoma mayor
is saying $15 is too high and would be too much of a “shock to the
economy.”

Meanwhile, 15 Now’s initiative to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour
in Tacoma has qualified to be on the November 2015 ballot. It would
apply to all businesses making gross revenues of $300,000 or more. There
would be no phase in and no exceptions according to the number of workers.

In Oregon, where Democrats control the state legislature, there are
three bills on the table: $12, $13.50, and $15—none of which are making
progress. The speaker of the House decided, as the session was almost
over, to present a $13 bill so “there can be a conversation” about the
minimum wage. It was clear that this was meant to stop the conversation
about $15 that has been ongoing throughout Oregon. It is doubtful that
the Democrats will pass any measure to raise the minimum wage.

On June 30, 15 Now Oregon held a press conference on the Capitol steps
and marched to the Secretary of State’s office to submit the initial
petitions to qualify for a $15 ballot measure in 2016.

It is important to remember that no wage increases took place because
local governing bodies were suddenly concerned about poverty wages in
their jurisdictions. Merely four years ago, any talk of a $15 minimum
wage was ridiculed throughout the nation by virtually all political
entities.

Raises for low-wage workers are being achieved only because a national
workers’ movement demanding a living wage has come onto the scene. We
should never forget the courage of the first New York City fast-food
workers who walked off the job and demanded a $15 wage and a union. We
now see the power of a movement that has spread from fast food to all
low-wage workers.

Fast-food workers themselves know what they have started—as was apparent
on June 6 when worker activists gathered for their second national
convention. Some 1300 fast-food workers came from around the country to
Detroit’s Cobo Center.

Most of the line cooks and cashiers are new to the labor movement, but
they have more experience organizing strikes than most rank-and-file
union members. Their enthusiasm easily matches that of any union rally.

In the main hall, workers and allies stomped in unison and yelled, “We
work, we sweat, put $15 on our check!” The ballroom was hung with
banners from Arizona, Little Rock, St. Louis, Memphis, Boston and Miami.
It is clear that the workers are still striving for what they demanded
in the first fast-food strikes in 2012—$15 per hour and a union.

The second day of the conference started with a video feed of Democratic
Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton bringing greetings and
words of encouragement. Clinton claimed that she wanted to be the
workers’ champion. The following day, however, the Clinton campaign
issued a “clarification” stating that she does not support the demand
for a $15 minimum wage.

Meanwhile, the lead article on the SEIU website showing Clinton speaking
to fast food workers quickly disappeared. The workers themselves seemed
to know that they were their own best champions.









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Posted in Labor. | Tagged $15, 15 Now, fast food, minimum wage, SEIU,
unions.







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