Some Employers and Republicans Want to Lower the Minimum Wage — Here’s Why They’re Completely Out of Touch

This article was originally posted on the Huffington Post

By Elizabeth Parisian

If you’ve been on Facebook this week, you’ve probably seen the Chris Rock quote making the rounds:

“I used to work at McDonald’s making minimum wage. You know what that means when someone pays you minimum wage? You know what your boss is trying to say? It’s like, ‘Hey, [if] I could pay you less, I would, but it’s against the law.’”

Now it seems that some minimum wage employers aretrying to pay their workers less – and to even make it legal to do so. It seems unfathomable that anyone would consider the minimum wage — which, for a full-time worker, provides a yearly salary that is thousands of dollars below the poverty line for a family of three or four — to be too high. But in Arizona, Republican legislators are pushing a bill that would allow employers to pay teenagers working part-time a full three dollars per hour less than the state minimum wage, which works out to a mere $4.65 per hour.

And the Florida legislature is considering lowering the state minimum wage for tipped employees by more than half, from the current $4.65 per hour to the federal minimum of $2.13. OSI Partners, the company that owns Outback Steakhouse, supports the legislation. Given the current political discourse on how best to create good jobs and help struggling families, OSI’s involvement is especially noteworthy since the firm is owned by Bain Capital, the company that Mitt Romney co-founded and in which the Republican presidential nominee still has tens of millions invested.

The federal minimum wage, currently $7.25 per hour, has been raised only three times over the last 30 years. If the minimum wage had kept up with inflation over the last few decades, it would now be $10.55 per hour – arguably still not enough to support a family, but a marked improvement from where it is presently.

Luckily, despite the fact that some Republicans think the minimum wage is still too high for some workers, there are many, many folks who support a substantial wage increase. One of these folks is Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, who in March introduced legislation to raise the minimum wage to $9.80 over two and a half years and peg it to inflation – a move supported by over two-thirds of voters. Hundreds of economists, including several Nobel Prize winners, have spoken out in favor of raising the minimum wage, along with large employers like Costco and business organizations like the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce that recognize that higher wages are good for workers, employers, and the economy.

Unfortunately, this overwhelming support for raising the minimum wage does not extend to most of corporate America, which has a tendency to prize the short-term bottom line above all other considerations, including the ability of its workers to make ends meet. The anti-minimum wage gang will “twist itself into knots rationalizing a corporate-backed agenda,” John Stoehr observes in The American Prospect. And there is no question that those opposed to raising the minimum wage will prey upon our fears of joblessness and the bad economy to try to convince us that the minimum wage needs to stay where it is.

Corporate lobbyists are busy spreading distortions and outright lies in their attempt to hold back minimum wage increases supported by the vast majority of working people. Here are some of the biggest falsehoods that are going around, along with facts you can use to discredit them (with many thanks toraisetheminimumwage.org for providing much of this information):

Myth No. 1: Raising the minimum wage will kill jobs

Facts: Rigorous research carried out over the last two decades has demonstrated that raising the minimum wage does not result in job loss — in fact, it’s been shown to result in increased employment. For example, an analysis of Illinois, which raised its minimum wage in 2004 and 2006, showed that the state experienced more job growth than surrounding states where wages remained at the federal minimum.

And contrary to the claims of corporate America, large companies can easily afford to pay workers an increased wage without suffering losses. According to the National Employment Law Project (NELP), corporate profits now represent the largest share of GDP — and wages and salaries represent the lowest share — in over half a century.

Myth No. 2: Raising the minimum wage will hurt small businesses

Facts: According to NELP, two-thirds of all minimum wage employees work in companies with at least 100 workers, and half of all minimum wage workers work in companies with over 500 workers. For those small businesses that do employ minimum wage workers, there is good news: a 2006 study found that small businesses experienced higher rates of growth in states where the minimum wage was higher than the federal minimum.

Margot Dorfman, CEO of the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce, explains it this way:

“The business owners with whom I talk every day believe that, far from hurting their businesses, raising the minimum wage in fact helps small businesses, women workers and the broader economy. Raising the minimum wage reinforces their business strategies, rather than undermining them.”

Myth No. 3: We can’t afford to raise the minimum wage during a recession

Facts: Raising the minimum wage would provide the stimulus we need to speed economic recovery. A 2011 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago found that every dollar increase for a minimum wage worker results in $2,800 in new consumer spending by his or her household over the following year. Put simply, low wage workers have a desperate need for any increased income and spend it quickly, often on the local level, which provides a huge boost to the economy–as even conservative economists have documented.

There is no doubt that the current federal minimum wage is too low, and that raising it would provide a much needed boost not only to low-wage workers but also to the sluggish economy. Now that election season is in full swing, it’s important to find out where candidates seeking our votes stand on the issue of raising the minimum wage — and to let them know where we, along with the majority of Americans, stand on the issue as well.

- Elizabeth is the Policy Analyst for Stand Up! Chicago

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Community Members Spring into Action to Increase Illinois Minimum Wage

By Shelly Ruzicka

On the sunny morning of May 17th, over 100 community supporters including Chicago and suburban residents, workers, clergy, and lay leaders traveled to Springfield to educate their legislators on the need to increase the state minimum wage.  The group consisted of individuals from member organizations of Raise Illinois, a coalition made up of non-profit organizations, labor groups, businesses, and religious leaders who understand that increasing the minimum wage will directly benefit working families struggling to pay the bills as well as the Illinois economy.

The day consisted of a rally outside the Capitol building and visits to legislators’ offices.  While not everyone was able to speak to his or her own Representative or Senator, those who did found it productive and empowering.  “I feel I’m coming back from this trip a different person. I learned so much,” said Rev. Myiam Renaud. Knowing each legislator has thousands of constituents, she found it surprising so many coalition members were able to see their representatives without appointments, and valued having the opportunity to share critical information with them.  “When we come with the facts, we have a real opportunity to impact our legislators.  Even one person can make a difference.”

At a time when democracy seems to have been hijacked by corporate and wealthy individual donor spending, many found it refreshing that at the state level, so many legislators were not only open to meet with constituents, but to hold productive discussions that may help influence their votes.  This is why the coalition has worked so hard to mobilize all stakeholders.  It’s a lot harder for legislators to turn a blind eye to the benefits of a minimum wage increase when a diverse community of low-wage workers, small business owners, and religious leaders all have the same rallying cry.

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According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), minimum wage increases can provide an economic boost to our state’s economy by putting more money into the pockets of low-wage earners who will return their earnings directly to the economy by spending in their communities—at grocery stores, gas stations, etc.  The EPI released a study called “The Benefits of Raising Illinois’ Minimum Wage.”  In it, the researchers state, “Economists generally recognize that low-wage workers are more likely than any other income group to spend any extra earnings immediately on basic needs or services that they could not previously afford.  Increasing Illinois’ minimum wage to $10.65 across four years would give an additional $3.8 billion to directly affected families who will, in turn, spend those extra earnings.”  This  $3.8 billion does not include additional spending from those who make just above the minimum wage who would also likely see a wage increase to maintain wage ladders (the “spillover” effect).

In a struggling economy, and in a state with seemingly never-ending budget problems, who can argue with a measure that would boost the Illinois economy and not cost the state a dime?  Especially after the state found a way to give tax breaks to giant corporations like CME Group and Sears.

The most common argument against a minimum wage increase is that it will result in job loss because employers will decrease hours or cut jobs. However, recent research demonstrates that minimum wage increases actually help create jobs. In his testimony to state legislatures, University of Illinois at Chicago research assistant professor Marc Doussard cites multiple sources that conclude that minimum wage increases do not lead to job losses, including a 2010 study in the prestigious Review of Economics and Statistics, and a 2006 study by the Fiscal Policy Institute. The latter provides findings that small businesses in states like Illinois with higher minimum wages than other states have not been hurt. In fact, the study shows that both the number of small businesses and the number of jobs at small businesses actually grew faster in states with higher minimum wages.

The proposed increase (via Senate Bill 1565) would gradually move the Illinois minimum wage from the current $8.25 per hour to $10.65 per hour in 2014.  The brilliance of the proposal is to tie the minimum wage thereafter to inflation, avoiding the need to pass laws for wage increases every few years.  Ten other states currently have similar policies indexing the minimum wage to inflation.

“It may never be equal, but it can be fair,” said Sr. Marlene Schemmel, Arise Chicago Advisory Board member, on the trip back to Chicago.  This was her second trip to Springfield with the Raise Illinois coalition, and likely will not be her last. Like hundreds of faith leaders across the state, she recognizes the need to take action to benefit her state and its lowest paid workers.

If you want to join Rev. Renaud, Sr. Marlene and the hundreds of other clergy and community supporters, but can’t make it to Springfield, sign the voter or faith leader petitions on the Raise Illinois coalition website.  And call your legislators.  While one phone call may not determine how a legislator will vote, not calling guarantees your voice will not be heard.

-Shelly is the Director of Operations at Arise Chicago

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Chicago Says NO to Erroneously Named “Secure Communities” Program

By: Shelly Ruzicka

Yesterday undocumented youth in Chicago led hundreds of families, allies, and religious supporters in a large demonstration protesting the Department of Homeland Security’s “Secure Communities” program, or S-Comm.  Hearings have recently been held across the country after ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) Director John Morton stated that the program would be mandatory. 

Not long ago, Illinois joined other states to opt-out of the voluntary program which required local police to fingerprint anyone they stopped and send that information to ICE. Shortly after Governor Quinn signed the bill opting out of S-Comm into law, Morton stated that the program would no longer be voluntary but mandatory, thereby negating the will of states to abandon the program which many say lead to racial profiling and distrust of police.  Communities and county sheriffs have stated that “Secure Communities” has led to a greater disconnect between police and immigrant communities.  People who witness crimes are afraid to go to police out of fear they may be questioned, fingerprinted, and deported.  Women don’t report domestic violence for the same reason.  Workers are afraid to drive to their jobs or to pick up their children from school out of fear of being pulled over for a busted tail light or a cop who has been compelled to target “foreign” looking drivers.

Because of this fear created in communities, 150 organizations representing thousands upon thousands of individuals, have called for the immediate end to the “Secure Communities” program.  Many believe the recent hearings have been an attempt to win over more supporters for the program.  But communities from L.A. to Chicago have responded by saying that officials should not need to hear more stories, but should instead act on the knowledge they already have and immediately end the program.

At yesterday’s hearing, after other testimony was given, Alla, an undocumented young woman took the microphone and announced that she and five other undocumented youth could not in good conscience stay at the hearing, and asked the community members present to follow them out of the building.  They then proceeded to block traffic, risking arrest to demonstrate that by having a minor misdemeanor on their recored, under “Secure Communities” they could risk deportation.

Watch the walk-out and the following civil disobedience here:

 

After actions in several cities, such as this one in Chicago, the Obama Administration just announced a halt on deportations for non-criminal immigrants. While it does not provide a direct pathway to citizenship it will allow the granting of work permits. This is the most major reaction from the administration yet. While some are skeptical of whether this action will be meaningful, others are claiming it as a major victory.  Considering no other such declarations of halting deportations has been taken thus far, it is indeed a victory to be celebrated. But of course the struggle continues to make sure the new plan is implemented.  So celebrate, yes, but stay vigilant.

 

-Shelly is Director of Operations at Arise Chicago

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Illinois Workers Deserve a Raise!

Rev. Jason Coulter

By Adam Kader

Illinois workers deserve a raise, and that’s exactly what Senate Bill 1565 proposes to do.  A modest proposal, SB 1565 would allow Illinois minimum wage earners to catch up to the minimum wage they earned in 1969.  The “real wage” is the wage adjusted for inflation.  Since 1969, the minimum wage has not risen at the same rate that inflation has.  In other words, today’s minimum wage earner is making less than she was in 1969!

Because the federal minimum wage historically has remained so low, states have had to compensate by raising their own.  Illinois’ rate is at $8.25, higher than the federal rate of $7.25.  However, those of us who earn minimum wage or organize minimum wage workers know, $8.25/hr, or approximately $16,500/yr, is not a wage on which an Illinoisan can live.

Dozens of organizations, as part of the Raise Illinois Coalition, are pushing to correct this problem by supporting SB 1565.  We believe that a minimum wage increase is an important part of a range of  responses needed to improve Illinois’ economy and to pull working people out of poverty.

The bill proposes to raise the minimum wage by 50 cents plus inflation each year, until we reach the historic minimum, roughly calculated to be $10.65 by the year 2014.  If passed, the bill would help Illinois families most in need.  It would benefit mothers and fathers employed in non-union service industries such as restaurants, childcare, janitorial and maintenance, car washes, retail, and dry cleaning.  It would also help workers making just above their minimum wage-earning co-workers, such as “team-leaders” in fast food chains, as their wages also tend to increase when the minimum wage goes up.

The minimum wage increase is necessary to stimulate our economy.  SB 1565 would help businesses, by giving workers more spending power and increasing consumer activity.  When the wealthy earn more, they tend to save or invest their increased earnings, in contrast to low-wage earners who tend to spend.  Minimum wage earners would spend their increase in earnings at the local grocery store, hardware store, and auto mechanic.  The government, desperate for funds, stands to benefit from an increase in minimum wage, as an increase in workers’ earning and spending means an increase in tax revenue.

Illinoisans received annual minimum wage increases for the past five years.  This month marks the first year that Illinois will not see its minimum wage go up.  Now, in the midst of a recession, is the wrong time for us to cut workers’ spending power.  Indeed, a study conducted by the Center for American Progress confirms that “An Increased Minimum Wage is Good Policy Even During Hard Times.”

On June 30th, the Raise Illinois Coalition held a press conference at the Chicago Temple to raise awareness about the importance of this bill.  The public heard from Annette Jones, a home care worker, Bill Flynn, CEO of Paeon Partners, Pam Fox, Owner of Fox Hair, and Keith Kelleher, President of SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana, who described why they support a minimum wage increase.

Religious leaders also spoke in support of the bill: Rev. C.J. Hawking, Pastor at Euclid Avenue Methodist Church and Executive Director of Arise Chicago, Rev. Jason Coulter, Pastor at Ravenswood United Church of Christ and Board Member of Community Renewal Society, and Rev. Richard Mosley, Jr., Pastor at Hemenway United Methodist Church and Board Member of Protestants for the Common Good.

See coverage of the press conference:

The Chicago Citizen – “Coalition Demands Higher Minimum Wage”

Chicago Reporter, “Beep… Illinois Minimum Wage Flatlines”

Gapers Block, “Raise The Minimum Wage?”

In These Times, “Illinoisans Call for Minimum Wage Increase”

La Raza, “No aumento el salario mi­nimo en Illinois”

Progress Illinois, “Number Of The Week: 1969″ 

WJBC The Voice of Central Illinois, “Four years of minimum wage increases end in Illinois”

Watch video of speakers at the press conference:

Living by our values means raising the IL minimum wage – Rev. CJ Hawking

Leaving the Minimum Wage at Current Level is Wrong – Rev. Jason Coulter

Why workers who earn more than the minimum wage should support a wage increase – Adam Kader

Find out more about SB1565 and increasing the minimum wage

SB1565 Factsheet

Raise Illinois’ website

Raise Illinois Facebook page

- Adam is the Worker Center Director at Arise Chicago.  Arise Chicago is a member of the Raise Illinois Coalition.

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A System that Doesn’t Work Half of the Time? And Will Cost Billions? Sounds Good!

By: Shelly Ruzicka

The “Legal Workforce Act” being introduced by House Republicans led by Reps. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), and Steve King (R-IA), is at worst, a direct attack on immigrant workers which will actually negatively impact millions of working people across the country, including mostly authorized workers.  At best it is almost comical in its irony and hypocrisy.  At a time when Republicans are crying foul on any federal spending and are pleading for smaller government, this Republican proposal will actually cost the federal government billions to implement and billions more in lost tax revenue.

Considering the current climate of supposed major concern over the deficit, such a proposal should be viewed as shocking and downright incompetent.  What happened to Republicans clamoring to cut down the size of government?  Apparently, when it comes to immigrants, they are ready to spend, spend, spend!

Several groups, including the non-partisan National Immigrant Law Center have provided studies and reports showing the negative impact on all workers in the U.S. were such a system put into place.  They recently issued a summary of their concerns.

In short, some of the biggest issues are the following:

Loss of billions in tax revenue amidst an ongoing economic crisis.

• The Congressional Budget Office estimated that enforcing an e-verify system would cost the public approximately $17 billion in lost tax revenue over a ten year period due to undocumented workers leaving the tax system and being paid under the table by employers.
• Additionally, just implementing the program could cost upwards of $23 billion over the next 10 years.

Hundreds of thousands of authorized workers (aka citizens and legal residents) will lose or risk losing their jobs due to a 50% error rate in the system.

• It is estimated that in 2010 alone, at least 80,000 people lost their jobs due to E-Verify errors.
• Approximately 770,000 more could lose their jobs if implementation happens at a federal level.

Millions of workers, including mostly those who are authorized, will be forced into government bureaucracy and paperwork hell in order to try and save their jobs (with no guarantee of doing so)

• If E-Verify is required at a federal level, approximately 1.2 million U.S. citizens and work-authorized immigrants would have to contact SSA or DHS or risk losing their jobs.
• A NILC study found that even the Government Accountability Office recognized this problem, calling any attempt to fix an e-verify error “formidable.”

Millions of people authorized to work will be prevented from gaining employment due to errors that claim they are not authorized

• Because the proposed bill would require employers to pre-screen applicants, and because of the high error rate in the system, millions of people seeking  employment might not get hired, or would be prevented from receiving a first paycheck.

Considering there are millions of people in the U.S. without jobs, and considering that a majority of the public supports comprehensive immigration reform, the best way to help solve the current crisis and to avoid all the unnecessary headaches the above bill would cause, is two-fold:

Arise Chicago Worker Center members protesting CFOs visiting Chicago

1. Create more jobs by holding corporations accountable, including requiring them to pay their fair share in taxes (versus low to zero tax payment)

2. Enact comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship so that all workers are on a level playing field, driving wages up rather than down, and including more workers in the tax system.

These two tasks will increase tax revenue to help the country out of our economic recession, create jobs, and increase quality of life for all people living in the U.S.

Arise Chicago is part of a broad coalition of local, state, and national organizations concerned about the proposed “Legal Workforce Act”.    If you are troubled by the negative impact on all workers contact your Representatives in the House expressing your concerns.

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The New Employment Relationship: Workers Bear All the Risks while Employers Keep the Profits

by Jamie Hayes

In our work at Arise Chicago, we’ve lately noticed a dangerous new trend: employers are forcing employees to work as contractors, in order to subvert labor laws and their responsibility as employers.

Campaign #1

Margarita (pseudonym) worked for 2 years at a laundromat in the Albany Park neighborhood.  She was paid $5/hour, worked over 40 hours a week but never received overtime payment, and worked seven days per week. When Arise contacted her employer to inform him of his legal responsibility to pay employees minimum wage and overtime, and to give employees one day of rest per week, he tried to shirk responsibility by claiming that Margarita was actually an independent contractor.  Since Margarita could not make her own schedule, perform her work autonomously, nor bid out the work (the basic marks of a truly independent contractor), this defense was fairly preposterous. However, we are seeing a rise in savvy employers who force employees to sign contracts and incorporate, all for the privilege of toiling day in and day out for the same abusive employer, often at rates below minimum wage, and outside of the jurisdiction of OSHA, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, and the other government agencies that enforce workers’ rights.

Campaign #2

Luis (pseudonym) worked for a suburban window and gutter washing company for 8 years.  Though the company had forced him to sign a contract stating that he was a contractor, and had forced him to incorporate, he was indeed an employee of the company: he reported to the same manager and same office day-in and day-out, he could not set his own hours or take on his own clients, and he could not bid out his own jobs. One day, he fell off of a roof two stories high.  Luis was injured badly, but thankfully survived the fall.  Though the company had forced him to sign contracts saying he was not an employee, the company knew that these contracts may not hold up throughout the workers compensation process.  Thus, the company settled out of court. The settlement was not large, but at least covered the cost of his medical bills.  Another worker had a very similar experience at this company, falling off a roof and then winning a settlement out of court.

Upon Luis’ return to work after an extended recuperation period, rather than providing workers fall prevention training and safety equipment, instead the company forced workers to sign even tighter contracts, and to purchase their own workers’ compensation insurance (conveniently deducted from their paychecks).  Workers get to keep 50% of the cut, but must also provide their own transportation, pay for their own gas, cover any damages to homes, pay twice as much in tax as employees, and pay out their assistants (the company insists that all workers hire assistants, again violating the autonomy of a truly independent contractor).  At the end of the day, sometimes workers barely make enough money to cover their expenses. Luis reports that oftentimes he shows up to a job, only to find out that the company has improperly bid out the job.  For example, clients have more windows than reported, or different types of windows that take many hours to clean. However, Luis is forbidden from charging clients more for this extra work.  Additionally, the company provides clients with coupon promotions–promotions that come out of workers’ paychecks, even though they have no say in how and when these promotions are given.  Finally, since Luis is classified as an independent contractor, he is not entitled to breaks or overtime wages even though he regularly works 12 hour days.

But perhaps most disturbingly, workers are not provided with fall protection gear and safety training by the company.  In fact, Luis reports that when a worker on Luis’ team fell off a ladder and grabbed onto a gutter to hang on for dear life, the company’s response was to charge Luis for the damage done to the gutter.  And, while workers have received settlements in the past for their injuries, now that they are forced to buy their own workers’ compensation insurance, it’s unclear that the company would pay for the cost of these injuries.  More importantly, these injuries are preventable, but workers are not trained properly, nor can they necessarily afford the cost of the protective gear, given their meager wages.

Classical economic theory presumes that if these contracts were really such raw deals, workers would seek work elsewhere.  However, classical economic theory does not take into account the power differential between workers and employers.  Workers are told that they will not be given any more jobs if they do not sign these contracts, incorporate, and purchase their own workers compensation insurance.  They are also forbidden from taking independent clients.  In today’s economy, workers who are often recently-arrived immigrants, often lacking knowledge of English and US labor law, feel that they have no other choice but to continue in an abusive employment relationship, especially as more and more employers catch on to this new trend of passing market and health   safety risks on to the worker, while they collect all the profits.

Recently the company has fired Luis, ostensibly due to client complaints, though the company refused to give him the names of said clients.  Luis believes that the company is actually retaliating against him for pursuing his workers compensation claim.  To whom can Luis turn? As an “independent contractor”, he does not even have a right to unemployment insurance–yet another way that his employer has passed precarity on to those most vulnerable, the workers.

The Illinois Department of Labor has recognized the severity of the problem of misclassifcation, however, the Employee Classification Act only covers workers employed on construction sites.  Here at Arise Chicago, we are attempting to pursue other strategies; but without stronger laws regarding the misclassification of all types of workers, workers are left unprotected and even more vulnerable.

-Jamie Hayes is an Organizer at Arise Chicago Worker Center

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Connecticut Leads the Way

Photo courtesy of national Partnership for Women & Families

By Melissa Josephs

Last weekend the Connecticut House followed the lead of the Connecticut Senate by approving the first statewide paid sick days law!  Governor Malloy – who made paid sick days a centerpiece of his gubernatorial campaign – will sign the bill soon, giving a broad cross-section of service workers in businesses with 50 or more workers the right to earn up to 40 hours of paid sick time a year for the illness of themselves or their children or spouse, or for medical appointments, and to seek services related to sexual assault or family violence.  Now, hundreds of thousands of Connecticut workers will be able to take care of themselves, their children, and their spouse without risking a paycheck or jeopardizing their job.

But we still need the federal Healthy Families Act to be passed – HR 1876 and S984 – which would provide up to 7 paid sick days for workers in businesses with 15 or more workers.

Links:

Progressive States Network - Blueprint for Economic Security: Ensuring Job Security by Protecting Workers
National Partnership for Women and Families - Briefing Book on Paid Sick Days
National Opinion Research Center - Paid Sick Days: Attitudes and Experiences
Cry Wolf Project - Exposing Myths About the Economy and Government:  Paid Sick Leave
Institute for Women’s Policy Research - San Francisco’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance: Outcomes for Employers and Employees
Institute for Women’s Policy Research - 44 Million U.S. Workers Lacked Paid Sick Days in 2010
Restaurant Opportunities Center - Serving While Sick: High Risks and Low Benefits for the Nation’s Restaurant Workforce, and Their Impact on the Consumer

- Melissa Josephs is Director of Equal Opportunity Policy at Women Employed, an organization that seeks to improve the economic status of women and remove barriers to economic equity.

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Connecticut Could be First State to Provide Paid Sick Days

By Melissa Josephs

The Connecticut Senate narrowly passed a paid sick days bill 18-17, and it moves to the House next week, where if passed, it will be the first state to pass paid sick days, as Gov. Malloy made this an election issue and will sign the bill.  The bill provides up to 5 paid sick days each year to workers in service-sector jobs to care for their own illness or that of a child or spouse, seek preventive care for themselves, a child or spouse, or seek services related to family violence or sexual assault.  The bill:

• Applies to employers with 50 or more workers.

• Includes caregiving for self, child, or spouse (but not parent) and for victims of sexual assault or family violence.

• Provides up to 40 hours of paid sick leave each year, accrued at a rate of 1 hour earned for every 40 hours worked.

• Applies to hourly or non-exempt “service workers” with a long list of job categories that qualify (includes health workers of all kinds, restaurant and food service workers of all kinds, janitors and bldg. cleaners, child care workers, hospitality and retail workers, drivers), but does not apply to temp or day workers  or to service workers with fewer than an average of 10 hrs per week in the most recent complete calendar quarter.

• Does not apply to manufacturing industry or to nationally chartered 501(c)(3)s that provide recreation, childcare or education (i.e., the YMCA).

• Time begins accruing on Jan 2012 for current workers and is available for use after 680 hrs of employment (and for workers hired after 1/1/2012, after 680 hrs of service).

• Does not diminish collective bargaining rights and does not preempt or override the terms of any CBA effective prior to 1/1/2012.

A link to the amendment that contains the final language is here:

CT passing paid sick days is a monumental and historical first step as the first state to enact this desperately needed workplace benefit for all workers. It’s about time! Congratulations to Connecticut workers and their families, employers, and the public, all of whom will benefit.  I look forward to the day that Illinois and all states have paid sick days.

- Melissa Josephs is Director of Equal Opportunity Policy at Women Employed, an organization that seeks to improve the economic status of women and remove barriers to economic equity.

Links

http://www.cga.ct.gov/2011/AMD/S/2011SB-00913-R00SA-AMD.htm

www.familyvaluesatwork.org

www.SickDaysIllinois.org

www.womenemployed.org

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Crying Wolf

By Donald Cohen

Read my op-ed column, ‘Job killers’ that aren’t, published in today’s Los Angeles Times.  This article reflects the core of the Cry Wolf Project’s message.  Big business and its political and think tank allies consistently lie about the impact of laws and regulations that protect workers, consumers, and the environment, calling them “job killers.”

But when the bills become law, there’s no economic catastrophe.   The article shows how the California Chamber of Commerce (like its national counterpart, the U.S. Chamber) has been wrong on minimum wages, paid sick leave, environmental health and taxes on the wealthy.

Each May, the California Chamber of Commerce publishes its list of “job killer” legislation. The Chamber and its business allies rigorously carry out the central principle of modern advertising — repetition, repetition, repetition — hoping that their “job-killer” claims become each bill’s default sound bite.

Peter Dreier and I started the Cry Wolf Project to show how these claims are predictable – and wrong. Please share this article your colleagues, Facebook friends and Twitter followers so that this year, we can say “there they go again,” crying wolf and still wrong.

• The Chamber has been fear mongering to stop progressive reforms for decades.  In 1934, FDR took on the Chamber.  The  New York Times ran this story on May 4, 1934 “’Time to Stop Crying Wolf,’ Roosevelt Tells Chamber”
• Just for fun, listen to this one-minute clip of FDR taking on his business opponents, saying, “I welcome their hatred.”
• On the Cry Wolf theme, check out this wonderful cartoon, “A Brief History of Corporate Whining”

• And “Like” us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/crywolfproject

Links:

·         LA Times Op-Ed: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-cohen-jobkillers-20110519,0,7296495.story

·         NYT article: FDR Tells Chamber: “Stop Crying Wolf” http://crywolfproject.org/2011/05/fdr-tells-chamber-stop-crying-wolf/

- Donald Cohen is the director of the Cry Wolf Project, a nonprofit research network that identifies and exposes misleading rhetoric about the economy, regulation and government.

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