Wages

Living Wage Feasible and the Right Thing to Do

Articles — Fri, 11 May 2007 07:33:00 -0400

I never thought that trying to extend the city’s "living wage" law to a dozen hotels near Los Angeles International Airport was a good idea.

Please don’t misunderstand. Directing businesses to pay their employees at least $10.64 an hour is a smart and principled way to help the working poor. Those who insist that such a policy would trigger a huge loss of jobs are flat-out wrong.

The problem with targeting a handful of hotels -- and this was true even before a Superior Court judge last week barred the city from enforcing the ordinance -- is the narrowness of the approach.

Proponents… more

Wanted: Indispensable, Disposable Workers

Articles — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 22:27:00 -0400

Avondale, Colo. -- Spring is about to spring up here in this high plains farming community just outside the old steel city of Pueblo, and Joe Pisciotta is still not sure whether he’ll have enough of his usual workers to tend his crops.

Ever since the Colorado Legislature declared war on illegal immigrants last year, farmers in this neck of the woods have been worried that the undocumented workers who make up at least half of the area’s farm labor will be too scared to make a return migration.

Two Fridays ago, a carful of Mexican workers showed up at Pisciotta’s… more

Future for Los Angeles Middle Class is Uncertain

Articles — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 17:12:00 -0400

You may remember the ruckus that arose a couple of years ago when a local Spanish-language television station, Channel 62, put up a billboard publicizing its newscasts. Next to the words "Los Angeles," the abbreviation "CA" was crossed out and "Mexico" written in its stead.

Many reacted angrily, saying the sign was glorifying illegal immigration. Others accused the complainers of being racist xenophobes and maintained that the ad was simply celebrating the region’s Latino flavor.

Whatever you thought of the promotion, I’m here to tell you: We are, in at least one sense, perilously close to becoming Los Angeles, Mexico.

I am… more

Enable Choice on Labor Unions

Articles — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 17:32:00 -0400

The top priority of pro-labor members of the United States Congress is passage of the employee Freedom of Choice Act, a law that would make it easier for workers to organize a union in their workplace and negotiate a contract with their employer. This legislation has been the subject of vigorous public debate among labor organizations and business lobbyists, yet it only scratches the surface of a badly needed overhaul of U.S. labor law.

Currently, labor law is stuck somewhere in the mid-20th century instead of in the 21st century. It has yet to catch up with a new era where… more

Wage Issue Shouldn't End at L.A. Hotel Doors

Articles — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 21:34:00 -0500

For a guy in the hospitality business, Michael Gallegos has a funny knack for making enemies.

Gallegos is president of American Property Management Corp., which weeks ago broke ranks from a pack of hotels near Los Angeles International Airport to endorse a "living wage" for its workers -- $10.64 an hour without health benefits, $9.39 with them.

His stance not only drew the wrath of his fellow hoteliers; it didn’t please all of his employees, either. Some contend that he fattened their paychecks solely to try to keep them from unionizing the 570-room Sheraton Four Points, the largest hotel in American Property… more

Henry Ford’s Idea was Better

Articles — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 05:13:00 -0500

As President Bush and Congress prepare to debate an increase in the federal minimum wage, they could learn much from the economic wisdom of one of America’s most successful business leaders -- Henry Ford.

Ford was, among other things, a famously domineering employer, but he was also an economic pioneer. He not only perfected the techniques of mass production of automobiles, but he also foresaw that his efforts would not amount to great profits if average Americans could not afford to buy all those cars. He saw that putting higher wages in his workers’ pockets was good for his, and his… more

The Rise of the Office-Park Populist

Articles — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 21:34:00 -0500

On Election Day last month, Democratic candidates did something they haven't done for a while: they decisively won the middle class. Middle-income voters -- including white, middle-income voters who have abandoned the party in droves in recent years -- preferred Democratic candidates by wide margins. Indeed, only voters with family incomes in excess of $100,000 a year were more likely to support Republicans than Democrats in House races in November.

The conventional view among the pundit class is that this middle-class restoration, valuable as it was for Democrats, creates thorny new tensions. Motivated mainly by their disgust with corruption, incompetence and… more

No Friend of Labor

Articles — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 04:09:00 -0500

While President Bush points to low unemployment and a resurgent stock market as signs of a strong economy, most Americans don’t feel so bullish. Median incomes are flat, healthcare costs are soaring, pensions are being de-funded and corporate employers are threatening to shred the social contract with their employees that has prevailed for 60 years.

The balance of economic power has become increasingly one-sided, and one reason is that a key institution -- the National Labor Relations Board, the country’s chief arbiter of labor disputes -- remains solidly in anti-worker hands. Although a quasi-judicial entity appointed by the president and empowered… more

The Living Wage by the Numbers

Communications — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 19:31:00 -0400

A New America Event
09/22/2006 - 12:30pm

At the 10th anniversary of welfare reform, Congress is now engaged in a debate about how best to help the working poor. At the federal level, there is much discussion about whether an increase in the minimum wage would be the best approach. Meanwhile, at the state level, ten states have increased their minimum wage this year and six more have wage initiatives on their ballots this November. Many states and municipalities have gone ahead and instituted these "living wage" ordinances with hopes of raising the living standards of some of their most vulnerable families. Others, including the District of Columbia, are still considering it.

However, there remains concern about whether the costs of these ordinances outweigh their value. Just last week, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley used his veto power for the first time in his 17-year tenure to reject a living wage ordinance. Is the living wage a life-safer or a job-killer?

Dr. Robert Strauss from Carnegie Mellon University has conducted an in-depth study of living wage ordinances. At this New America event, Strauss -- along with prominent thought leaders from both the left and right -- discussed the impact of the living wage.

The Real Issue is Risk

Articles — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 15:13:00 -0400

Having just finished a book entitled The Great Risk Shift: The Assault on American Jobs, Families, Health Care, and Retirement -- And How You Can Fight Back, I have no doubt that Stephen Rose will accuse me of offering a "message of misery." My defense, already laid out in greater length on the website of "The Democratic Strategist" in response to three of Rose’s colleagues, is that political candidates and leaders should, first and foremost, offer a message of truth. And the truth is that, after a generation in which more and more economic risks have been shifted onto the… more