Tag Archives: minimum wage
Top 9 Photos of 2014 (and one awesome video)
Posted December 16, 2014
From marching with single moms in a Polar Vortex in Brooklyn Center, to Rosie the Riveters in Duluth and Grand Rapids, and even heading to the White House — it’s been a busy year! Take a look at some of our favorite pictures, and make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom for our favorite video of 2014. Happy New Year!
Building economic security across Minnesota
Posted May 23, 2014
At the end of February, we laid out for you a vision to expand economic equity in the 2014 legislative session.
Three months (and 2,000+ emails to legislators, almost 30,000 doors knocked on, 8,000 petition signatures, 1,500 conversations on the phone, and one very (very) cold march with single moms later) much of that vision has been realized.
More than 300,000 Minnesotans will get a raise come August 1. Soon grandmothers will be able to stay home from work to take care of their grandchildren, and employers won’t be able to fire women simply because they’re a mom. More Minnesotans will get a second chance, and Minnesota will continue to lead the nation in health care through MinnesotaCare.
None of this would have been possible without Minnesotans like standing hand in hand with bold champions at the Capitol fighting for progress every day – while under immense pressure from corporate interests to back down.
We know that there’s more work to do. We’re still fighting to make sure that no mom worries about getting fired for staying home with sick kids. To make sure that all our neighbors can participate in our democracy. And to make sure that all Minnesotans have access to the affordable health care they need.… Continue reading »
10 things you did to raise the wage
Posted April 14, 2014
On this historic day, when Governor Dayton signed a minimum wage increase of $9.50 an hour, indexed to inflation, into law — let’s take a look back at the top 10 things members like you did to make this day possible.
1. Talked to our legislators in their districts, like these meetings with Senator Ann Rest in Robbinsdale and in Grand Rapids with Representatives Metsa, Melin, Radinovich, Persell, & Anzelc and Senators Tomassoni & Saxhaug
2. Attended our caucuses and conventions to talk to our neighbors and senators about raising the wage. (Our Grand Rapids Organizer said this Itasca County convention had 95% of delegates wearing raise the wage stickers before she ran out!)
3. Spoke up against a proposal to put a constitutional amendment on the 2014 ballot to index the wage — making it loud and clear that working families deserved a raise now, not a vote in November.
4. Made 6,000 calls to Minnesotans and sent nearly 2,000 emails to legislators.
5. Collected more than 6,000 petitions signatures with CREDO Mobilize.
6. Knocked on 2,000 doors to talk to working families about what raising the wage would mean to them.
7. Members like K’Shauna testified at legislative hearings to make sure that legislators heard from the working Minnesotans who will benefit from this increase.… Continue reading »
Minnesota makes history with largest minimum wage hike
Posted
Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law the largest minimum wage increase in state history Monday, giving raises to more than 325,000 Minnesotans and making good on a signature Democratic pledge during an election year.
The move to a $9.50 base hourly wage catapults the state from one of the lowest minimum wages to one of the highest once it is fully phased in by 2016. The state’s base wage will be tied to inflation starting in 2018, ensuring the buying power of the state’s lowest-paid workers keeps better pace with the cost of living.
“Minnesotans who work full time should be able to earn enough money to lift their families out of poverty, and through hard work and additional training, achieve the middle-class American dream,” the DFL governor said, surrounded by legislators, workers and labor leaders at a ceremonial bill-signing in the State Capitol rotunda. “These are people, good Minnesotans all over the state, who just want to work and get paid something that is fair.”
The sharp wage hike puts Minnesota at the forefront of a major initiative by President Obama, who has failed to persuade Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 and instead is pressing his case state by state.… Continue reading »
Lots to Love about Duluth
Posted March 13, 2014
You know what I love about Duluth? The big lake iced over in the winter, my West Duluth neighborhood, walking the trail at the end of Park Point, the great music and beer made locally, the Farmer’s Market in the summer, and the hearty people that call Duluth home.
Even with so many good things about Duluth we still have major issues confronting our community. Problems so daunting that they seem impossible to solve. We have a city whose residents’ life expectancy varies by zipcode, we have some of the worst income disparities between people of color and white people, and we have many who are without affordable housing. Our minimum wage leaves people in poverty.
And as a woman, I’m keenly aware that women in particular are being left behind in this economy. Two out of three Minnesotans working minimum wage jobs are women, and families headed by women are more likely to live in poverty than families that aren’t.
These are big problems. Problems that need solving.
But that brings me right back to what I love about Duluth. The people. We have so many committed, caring people, leaders, and organizations working together to tackle these problems. We can’t do it alone.… Continue reading »
Marching with single moms
Posted February 27, 2014
Earlier today, 100+ Minnesotans braved the cold to march with single moms and ask Wal-Mart to support policies that will lift Minnesota women out of poverty. We heard from women who were fired for being sick and who struggle to make ends meet working low-wage jobs.
They’re not an anomaly. Two out of three low-wage workers are women. Female headed families are four times more likely to be in poverty. And on and on.
So although I couldn’t feel my fingers or my toes, it felt worth it marching behind this single mom and her son.
Our kids’ moms deserve to be paid a living wage. Minnesota kids deserve to have their parents home with them when they’re sick without fear of losing their jobs. And Minnesota women deserve to equal pay for equal work.
Representative Carly Melin and Senator Sandy Pappas have put forward a bill that would tackle all these issues at once. Elizabeth in our office started a petition on CREDO Mobilize to back them up — will you add your name?
Joy Among Our Righteous Anger
Posted December 5, 2013
On Black Friday I was arrested with 25 others in an act of civil disobedience to demand an end to poverty wages in Minnesota. It was the busiest shopping day of the year and with a thousand people marching, we shut down half a dozen Saint Paul City blocks with our joyful rebellion. You can see pictures of the action here.
Now, we were determined to disrupt business as usual, but we weren’t creating a crisis. The truth is with hours cut, benefits non-existent and wages stagnating or in decline, our families are already in crisis. With our kids growing up in working poverty and our schools underfunded, our communities are already in crisis. With so much wealth in so few hands, our state is already in crisis. Our civil disobedience was about making the crisis visible.
I was surprised, though, that a demonstration filled with righteous anger felt so celebratory. The truth is collective action is a liberating thing. You’re not alone in your anger. You have a community. You come alive to the sense of possibility and power you’ve always had inside.
Maybe Minnesota’s Senate should take note. They could easily step up and pass the minimum wage hike the House of Representatives has proposed.… Continue reading »
Being welcomed into homes
Posted November 21, 2013
I approached the minimum wage door knock I had signed up for yesterday tired and stressed. I wasn’t fully committed to being there but wanted to follow-through on what I said I would do. I am so glad I didn’t back out.
The conversations I had with people – asking them to tell their story, sign a petition and write a letter to their Senator about raising the minimum wage — were amazing. The energy and real relationship building I was able to do reminded me why I do this work. Many people invited me in, treated me like a welcomed guest in their home (even though I had unannounced showed up at their door). Everyone thanked me.
That’s what stands out the most for me. I grew up in many of those apartments. Some of my childhood memories include hanging out in the halls with all the other kids who lived in the unit. No one that I recall took the time to meet me and my family, where we were at. That’s what these door-knocks are doing. We’re lucky enough to get out and meet people in their homes, where they are. And people are grateful that we are doing it.… Continue reading »
$9.50 vs. $7.75: Looking Past the Numbers.
Posted October 23, 2013
At the end of the 2013 legislative session, Governor Mark Dayton, Speaker of the House Paul Thissen, and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk agreed on one thing: they will need to take up the minimum wage again in 2014 session. Beyond that: they have differences. The Governor has indicated he “would settle” for an increase to $9.50/hr. The House has passed a bill that would raise it to $9.50/hr by 2015. The Senate’s bill raises it to only $7.75/hr.
Before the next legislative session begins on February 25, 2014 you can expect to hear a lot more about these dollar figures (as well as the rest of the minimum wage improvements being proposed.) As you do, it’s important to place them in some context. How high is too high? How low is too low? What do people need to make per hour in order to just get by? Here is a simple guide to the minimum wage dollar figure debate:
$28.34: This is what the minimum wage would be had it grown at the same rate as the income as the top 1% since 1968 (the year in which the federal minimum wage was at its highest).
$18.72: This is what the minimum wage would be had it grown with the productivity of the U.S.… Continue reading »
What Babysitters Can Tell Us About Minnesota’s Fate
Posted October 18, 2013
For the last five years my wife and I have had a string of top-notch babysitters. Our two daughters have had the benefit of getting to spend time with young musicians, burgeoning scientists, and up & coming early childhood educators.
Talented, caring, and thoroughly underemployed: all of them were college educated.
What’s been true in my experience has also been reflected by the employment data of the recession. According to the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, the rates of underemployment for recent college graduates have grown from 27.4% in 2007 to 37% on 2012. Paired with straight up unemployment that means 1 of every 2 recent college graduates are under- or unemployed.
What underlies this trend, however, is not lazy students, bad schools, or superfluous college majors, what drives this trend is lousy jobs. According to a 2012 report by the Center for Economic Policy Research, since 1979 the U.S. economy has lost about the one-third of its ability create good jobs. If we were creating good jobs (meaning those that pay $18.50 an hour and have health insurance and retirement benefits) in the same way we were in 1979, 34.2% of workers would have good jobs. Instead only a shrinking 24.6% of U.S.… Continue reading »
