Posts tagged Minimum wage
4 reasons why labor unions love Tim Walz
August 8, 2024 // The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers noted that Walz, a former teacher, understands the struggles of working people. The AFL-CIO hailed the governor as a principled fighter and labor champion. The Service Employees International Union pointed to what it called "the Minnesota Miracle," a sweeping package of pro-worker laws passed by the state's Democratic legislature last year and signed into law by Walz.
Opinion: Union wants a second helping of nutso, corrupt Cali fast-food law
August 6, 2024 // Higher wages mean a higher bar of entry for kids looking for summer jobs and low-education adults looking for stable work. And higher prices for consumers already rocked by inflation. Sure seems like progressives don’t really care much about the little guy they allegedly stand up for.
Wealth creators stung by Michigan minimum wage ruling
August 2, 2024 // About 40% of Michigan restaurants could go bankrupt as this ruling takes effect, Rep. Noah Arbit, D-West Bloomfield, posted on social media: “40% of restaurants across Michigan could go out of business when the tip credit skyrockets,” Arbit wrote. “Thousands of servers will be laid off. I look forward to working w/ colleagues and partners on a fix that will not leave our beloved community restaurants on a cliff-edge this winter.”
Thousands of Colorado janitors vote to authorize strike: “Denver depends on us, and we need livable wages”
July 25, 2024 // "Anybody downtown or in these large commercial building areas, they're going to see and feel our membership," said Felix-Sowy. "The strike is going to affect those buildings and our members are going to be very strategic about which buildings they take out on strike, and where that impact is going to be felt."
Editorial: App delivery minimum wage is shutting out workers and NYC lefties don’t care
July 16, 2024 // The cost to consumers is skyrocketing: They spent 10% more on deliveries in Q1 of 2024 than over Q1 2023. Which means customers are tipping less — the average tip amount is down by $2.64. And while the fewer couriers still working are earning more per hour on paper (that’s true by definition when a wage floor is legally established), they are likely working much, much harder for that extra wage.
Op-Ed: Union membership is now political. So can the government still require people to associate with a union?
July 10, 2024 // Since then, employees have argued that exclusive union representation does violate the First Amendment. Exclusivity saddles them with the “services” of nakedly political bargaining agents. Lower courts have turned those arguments aside mostly because of an older case, Minnesota Board for Community Colleges v. Knight, which suggested that exclusive representation was okay in the public sector. Knight seemed to say that when the government bargains about working conditions, it can choose its own bargaining partner. And if it chooses one exclusive union to bargain with, that choice burdens no one’s associational rights. But whether or not that’s what Knight meant, the decision has no bearing on private-sector bargaining. In the private sector, the government does not choose its own bargaining partner; it imposes one on private parties. And some of those parties object to their unions’ political views—views that are increasingly central to unionization itself. So private-sector bargaining raises a different question: can the government force private citizens to associate with a union when that union’s core purpose is increasingly political? (Elsewhere, I have argued at greater length that it cannot.)

Who Loves Minimum Wage Laws? Kiosk Makers
July 3, 2024 // Average voters who might think they are helping downtrodden, exploited workers might mean well, but they should realize that they are actually enriching higher-skill workers (who don’t need the help as much), software developers, and people who own shares in ordering kiosk companies.
Hollywood Arby’s closes after 55 years over California’s $20 minimum wage
June 25, 2024 // A family-owned Arby’s Roast Beef that has been a fixture on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood for 55 years shut its doors, blaming California’s recently enacted $20-an-hour minimum wage law as the final “nail in the coffin.”

Victory! Goldwater Defeats Illegal ‘Prevailing Wage’ Laws in Phoenix & Tucson
June 24, 2024 // In a victory for hardworking Arizonans, a state trial judge ruled this morning that the cities of Phoenix and Tucson violated state law by adopting “prevailing wage” ordinances that force businesses competing for taxpayer-funded public-works projects to pay employees above-market wages. The ruling, which comes after the Goldwater Institute sued Phoenix and Tucson on behalf of dozens of area businesses, means Arizonans will be free to work on public projects in the state’s two largest cities without being stifled by ill-conceived regulations and bureaucratic red tape.
Gavin Newsom Wants to Curb a Labor Law That Cost Businesses $10 Billion
June 12, 2024 // Newsom’s office has brought together the state’s powerful California Chamber of Commerce with the California Labor Federation to hash out a compromise over the Private Attorneys General Act, or PAGA, people familiar with the negotiations said. The law has cost big and small businesses $10 billion over the past ten years, according to one study, and is viewed by labor advocates as a model of worker protection.The negotiators are in a race against time: June 27 is the deadline to strike a measure from Californians’ November ballot that would give voters the opportunity to repeal the law. The Chamber of Commerce is negotiating on behalf of a broad alliance, which includes the billionaire owner of the Wonderful Company, Stewart Resnick, car dealership owners, Walmart and McDonald’s Corp., along with small businesses across the state. The business coalition committed more than $31 million to entities backing the ballot measure, including the signature-gathering effort and an advertising blitz.