Posts tagged $15 per hour
Push in states for $20 minimum wage as inflation persists
March 30, 2023 // Cindy Lee, the owner of a bowling alley in Endicott, New York, said she’s struggling to pay off loans taken out during the pandemic that kept her business afloat. “All this cost all at once is just going to kill us. I definitely will have to cut corners somewhere with employees if wages are raised,” said Lee, adding that she’d also have to increase prices on bowling, food and liquor. The federal minimum wage in the United States has stayed at $7.25 per hour since 2009, but states and some localities are free to set higher amounts. Thirty states have chosen to do so.
Wage activists thankful minimum wage has finally hit $15, but say it’s not enough
January 5, 2023 // “Inflation is putting real pressure on workers, and the minimum wage needs to keep up with their costs,” she said in the release. Lynch doesn’t believe another minimum wage increase would solve the problem, but said moving closer to a living wage would help. Tying minimum wage to inflation or indexing it could help workers keep up with rising costs, she added.
KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE FAST FOOD WORKERS IN CALIFORNIA
June 14, 2022 // There’s a lot going on here with California being a proving ground for another measure with far-reaching implications: The state’s fast food workers could also soon possess the power to bargain, if progressives get their way. Assembly Bill 257 – the so-called Fast Food Accountability and Standards (FAST) Recovery Act – aims to essentially transform the state government into a union-like entity for the fast food industry. The bill calls for “minimum standards on wages, working hours” and more for this specific industry, and it would grant the labor commissioner extraordinary powers to act against companies and levy fines without even a peep of a formal filing from workers. The kicker for this bill: Worker complaints and associated demands would land in the hands of a “sector council,” which would possess board powers to set regulations at will for all fast food chains (all of the Pizza Huts and Popeyes and Taco Bells and every chain in between) with 30 or more California locations.The council would bypass the bargaining table and propel these new “standards” toward the state government for implementation and enforcement on issues of wages, working conditions, and so on. Kimberly Ricci, Labor Relations Link,
Wells Fargo employees pushing to organize union across bank’s workforce
June 3, 2022 // Workers at Wells Fargo with the Committee for Better Banks met with Wells Fargo’s CEO, Charles Scharf, in December 2020 over workers’ concerns with company policies, pay and benefits, but have been pushing for a follow-up meeting, to discuss recent scandals such as the fake diversity interviews.
‘You saw us coming’: Dollar General turns away activists and workers from shareholder meeting after they arrived late
May 27, 2022 // The Tennessean reported that about 125 organizers were present at the demonstration and the march down from a local park, calling for a wage of $15 an hour, a frequent demand of activist groups and progressives. (The federal minimum wage remains $7.25.)
Great Lakes Coffee in Detroit permanently closes after strike, unionization effort
May 25, 2022 // “It is permanent," attorney Frank Mamat of Dinsmore & Shohl, who represents the shop's coffee supplier, said Tuesday. "They (the coffee shop) weren't making money and they couldn't find people that felt comfortable working there because of omicron, and the customers felt the same way — they weren’t coming.”
Blacklisting Federal Contractors
May 4, 2022 // Congressional Democrats have taken a renewed interest in resurrecting a failed Obama-era executive order, “Fair Pay and Safe Workplace (EO 13672),” also known as “Blacklisting.” The stated goal of the Blacklisting executive order, and subsequent regulations, was to promote efficiency in government procurement by ensuring federal agencies contract only with “responsible” contractors who comply with federal and state workplace laws.
A Democratic Lawmaker Sold Her Small Business. Now She Favors a $15 Minimum Wage.
April 29, 2022 // In 2019, Luria became a cosponsor of the Democrats' Raise the Wage Act, which explicitly ignores the localized conditions that Luria pledged to consider. Earlier this year, she once again voted in support of the federal $15 minimum wage, which was included in the COVID relief bill passed by the House.
Trust the Experts: Economists Across Board Say Min Wage Hike Would Spike Inflation
April 28, 2022 // Nearly 80 percent of studies conducted since 1992 found that an increased minimum wage decreases the level of employment. Michael Saltsman, the managing director of the Employment Policies Institute, said Democrats have pushed for a $15 minimum wage even as economists warn it will decimate jobs.
The resurgence of unions and the fight against Amazon
April 25, 2022 // "The pandemic also created a labor shortage, which gave people more leverage, and made them less fearful of organizing," she said. "Unions are cool again for this generation."