April232012

Change Walmart To Rebuild America

———

Our lives tell the real story of Walmart’s 50 years.

  • We work in the stores and are dedicated to help customers and succeed at our jobs. We follow the rules but just can’t get by on the low pay and hours at Walmart
  • We work in the warehouses that supply Walmart’s goods, getting rock-bottom wages, no respect and working in unsafe conditions
  • We live around the world, making goods that are sold on Walmart’s shelves, yet live in poverty because of Walmart’s merciless demand for ever-lower prices
  • We own small businesses that have had to close our doors or lay off employees because of Walmart
  • We have seen low-paying jobs replace good-paying jobs that would allow us to raise a family as Walmart has grown in our communities and the global economy
  • We worry about Walmart’s impact on our planet and environment 

(Source: walmartat50.org)

Walmart minimum wage economy jobs health care families 

April162012

pantslessprogressive:

Calling it “the most impactful living wage law in the United States,” New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is pushing legislation that would raise the minimum wage from $7.25/hour to $11.50/hour (and $10/hour with benefits) for developments subsidized by the city.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg does not support this living wage legislation, equating the policy with communist Russia:

“If you think about it, the last time we really had a big, managed economy was the U.S.S.R. and that didn’t work out so well,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “You cannot stop the tides from coming in. We need jobs in this city. It would be great if all jobs in the city paid a lot of money and had great benefits for the workers, not good for the employers, but if you force that, you will just drive businesses out of the city.” [NY Observer]

Quinn allegedly has enough votes to not only pass the bill, but to override a veto from Bloomberg. The mayor says he would veto the bill and would fight the legislation in court.

Bloomberg’s underlying argument:

“You just cannot force employers to pay a rate that doesn’t–isn’t sustainable in their business and it’s not the government’s business to do this.”

Also important to note: Speaker Quinn cut the number of workers who would benefit from this legislation - with exemptions for several high-profile developments - in order to gain enough support for the bill. The increased minimum wage would affect only 400-500 workers, according to the New York Times. Quinn defends the compromise, saying the bill is meant to apply to new developments.

Despite the diluted nature of the proposed policy, those who support the bill simply say something is better than nothing.

(via browngurlwfro)

Minimum Wage Living Wage 

March262012
reagan-was-a-horrible-president: Info on the Minimum Wage and How to Get Congress to Raise it

reagan-was-a-horrible-president:

Info on the Minimum Wage and How to Get Congress to Raise it

(Source: mediaofthemovement)

Minimum Wage Chris Rock Living Wage 

11AM
reagan-was-a-horrible-president: “It comes as no surprise to most people that a worker making minimum wage would have a difficult time being able to afford the rent. After all, minimum wage is, by definition, the lowest wage people in just about every profession can make. What makes this graphic shocking, however, is just how far out of reach the rent is in so many places. In Hawaii, a minimum wage worker must work 175 hours a week, 52 weeks a year to afford the rent. In Utah, it’s 77 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. Even in the most affordable place on the map, Puerto Rico, a worker cannot afford rent and utilities on a modest apartment working less than 55 hours per week, 52 weeks a year.” —Talk of the Town: Making the Rent | On the Home Front

reagan-was-a-horrible-president:

“It comes as no surprise to most people that a worker making minimum wage would have a difficult time being able to afford the rent. After all, minimum wage is, by definition, the lowest wage people in just about every profession can make. What makes this graphic shocking, however, is just how far out of reach the rent is in so many places.

In Hawaii, a minimum wage worker must work 175 hours a week, 52 weeks a year to afford the rent. In Utah, it’s 77 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. Even in the most affordable place on the map, Puerto Rico, a worker cannot afford rent and utilities on a modest apartment working less than 55 hours per week, 52 weeks a year.”

—Talk of the Town: Making the Rent | On the Home Front

Minimum wage Living Wage Republicans Democrats Congress 

February72012

Romney’s minimum wage proposal sparks conservative backlash — Steve Forbes: ‘He’s still very defensive about his own wealth’

Mitt Romney’s position on the minimum wage has some on the right sounding the alarm about his candidacy—and it could expose a dangerous fault line between Romney and some of the Republican Party’s most reliable backers.

Romney said last week that he supports regular increases in the minimum wage to keep pace with inflation, a position he took as a candidate for president in 2008. Six years before that, as a candidate for Massachusetts governor, Romney supported linking automatic increases in the state’s minimum wage to inflation. “I haven’t changed my thoughts on that,” he told reporters.

Indexing the minimum wage to inflation is a goal of many labor-backed groups and liberal Democrats, who say it would help millions of working people. In recent years, Republicans, backed by their allies in the business community, have opposed such efforts, arguing that raising the minimum wage would reduce employment. Some on the right have come out against the very concept of a minimum wage.

Romney’s comments have caused concern among conservatives inside and outside the party.

“It goes to show he’s still very defensive about his own wealth,” Steve Forbes, the publishing magnate who made his own bids for the presidency in 1996 and 2000, told Yahoo News. “All it does is give the base another reason to be unenthusiastic about him.”

…..

The federal minimum wage, first enacted in 1938, was last raised in 2007, when Democrats controlled Congress. […]

Republicans Mitt Romney GOP Minimum Wage Democrats Politics 

February12012
On Jan. 1, 1981 (when Democrat Jimmy Carter was President) the minimum wage went from $3.10 to $3.35. Nineteen days later, Republican Ronald Reagan became President and the minimum wage didn’t go up again until April 1, 1990. The minimum wage went up twice under Daddy Bush & twice under President Clinton, but then we had another long-stall…from Sept. 1997 until July 2007, there was no raise. If you look at the 30-year time period of 1981-2011, you see that 19 of those 30 years went by without an increase in pay for millions of Americans. This has made the minimum wage no longer a “minimum wage”. And this problem is long overdue to be addressed. We need a Living Wage in the USA.

On Jan. 1, 1981 (when Democrat Jimmy Carter was President) the minimum wage went from $3.10 to $3.35. Nineteen days later, Republican Ronald Reagan became President and the minimum wage didn’t go up again until April 1, 1990.

The minimum wage went up twice under Daddy Bush & twice under President Clinton, but then we had another long-stall…from Sept. 1997 until July 2007, there was no raise.

If you look at the 30-year time period of 1981-2011, you see that 19 of those 30 years went by without an increase in pay for millions of Americans.

This has made the minimum wage no longer a “minimum wage”. And this problem is long overdue to be addressed.

We need a Living Wage in the USA.

Minimum Wage Republicans Ronald Reagan Living Wage Democrats 

January22012

San Francisco Becomes First in Nation with $10 Minimum Wage (and the Sky Isn't Going to Fall)

The business community is screaming that the higher wages will “cost jobs,” but the data suggest otherwise.

READ MORE

 

Minimum Wage San Francisco 

December282011
Eight States Raise Minimum Wage for New Year “Eight states are raising their minimum wage on January First, in line with state laws requiring the minimum to keep pace with inflation. The raises to come are modest by any measurement. But any increase must be welcomed as desperately needed and hopefully as a major start toward increasing the minimum wage everywhere to a level that will provide a decent living to all working Americans, many of them living in poverty or near-poverty.” Some of Obama’s Republican opponents in Congress actually have called for the minimum wage to be abolished, largely because their big money backers in the restaurant business, who employ about 60 percent of all minimum wage workers, are against it, as are many other business and corporate interests. Congress’ failure to act has left it up to the states. The eight that are raising their rates on New Year’s Day include Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.  Their rates will increase by 28 to 37 cents an hour to between $7.64 and $9.04. The National Employment Law Project (NELP) calculates that will bring nearly 1.4 million full-time minimum wage workers an extra $582 to $770 per year. Read the Article

Eight States Raise Minimum Wage for New Year

“Eight states are raising their minimum wage on January First, in line with state laws requiring the minimum to keep pace with inflation. The raises to come are modest by any measurement. But any increase must be welcomed as desperately needed and hopefully as a major start toward increasing the minimum wage everywhere to a level that will provide a decent living to all working Americans, many of them living in poverty or near-poverty.”

Some of Obama’s Republican opponents in Congress actually have called for the minimum wage to be abolished, largely because their big money backers in the restaurant business, who employ about 60 percent of all minimum wage workers, are against it, as are many other business and corporate interests.

Congress’ failure to act has left it up to the states. The eight that are raising their rates on New Year’s Day include Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.  Their rates will increase by 28 to 37 cents an hour to between $7.64 and $9.04. The National Employment Law Project (NELP) calculates that will bring nearly 1.4 million full-time minimum wage workers an extra $582 to $770 per year.


Read the Article

(Source: truth-out.org)

minimum wage Republicans Rich People class war GOP 

November92011
The war Ronald Reagan started against the working class is a resounding success today ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Opportunities for Women – published the report and it finds that a single Michigan resident needs to make more than 12 bucks an hour just to house – clothe – and feed him or herself. The minimum wage in Michigan is well short of that marker – just $7.40. But when you throw children into the equation – the picture is even grimmer. A mother with two children needs to make about $24 dollars an hour to meet their basic needs – that’s more than three times higher than minimum wage, and that’s working a 40-hour week. That means each and every month – someone who’s trying to raise their kids on minimum wage has to forego dinner – or rent – or electricity – or a new pair of shoes just to get by in America – the richest nation on the planet. I guess Republicans will argue they just need to get a credit card. Looks like the war Ronald Reagan started against the working class 30 years ago is a resounding success today. Submitted by Louise Hartmann from The Thom Hartmann Program Blog

The war Ronald Reagan started against the working class is a resounding success today

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Opportunities for Women – published the report and it finds that a single Michigan resident needs to make more than 12 bucks an hour just to house – clothe – and feed him or herself. The minimum wage in Michigan is well short of that marker – just $7.40. But when you throw children into the equation – the picture is even grimmer.

A mother with two children needs to make about $24 dollars an hour to meet their basic needs – that’s more than three times higher than minimum wage, and that’s working a 40-hour week. That means each and every month – someone who’s trying to raise their kids on minimum wage has to forego dinner – or rent – or electricity – or a new pair of shoes just to get by in America – the richest nation on the planet. I guess Republicans will argue they just need to get a credit card.

Looks like the war Ronald Reagan started against the working class 30 years ago is a resounding success today.

Submitted by Louise Hartmann from The Thom Hartmann Program Blog

(via accio-enlightenment)

Republican Ronald Reagan Minimum Wage GOP Class Warfare 

October62011

The high cost of low wages | A World of Progress

The “Make Work Pay: Why Empowering Workers & Holding CEO’s Accounable is Vital to Economic Growth” workshop at next weeks Take Back the American Dream conference, will examine why America can’t afford to go the way of Texas on jobs.

[…]

As I wrote almost a year ago, conservative think you (and I) need a pay cut.

The underlying factors remain the same. At the time, the GOP had the minimum wage in its crosshairs, but middle- and working-class Americans were already taking a pay cut in the form of unpaid furloughs and reduced working hours. The decades preceding the 2008 economic crisis saw working-class wages stagnate while the incomes rose for the wealthiest. The stagnation and decline in middle- and working-class wages paralleled the decline of organized labor. Increased productivity, added to the mix, means that Americans who still have jobs are working harder for less. Fewer of them are quitting their jobs, even if they’re dissatisfied with their jobs cause And in a “no-quit economy,” it’s pretty much true.

The past few years have born more evidence that a American workers, already weakened by decades, are bearing the brunt of the recession.

But perhaps the biggest price tag on low-wage jobs creation is the potential for a “lost decade” of economic growth. Fewer people working means fewer people purchasing goods and services, leading to a drop in demand, which leads to further job loss. Two reports. It’s simple enough, but Republicans swear that lowering wages — like Michele Bachmann, who advocates doing away with the minimum wage in order to “offer jobs at whatever level” — will reduce unemployment to nil.

(Source: sarahlee310, via reagan-was-a-horrible-president)

politics wages minimum wage economy 

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