The presidential election was bad news for progressives, but the dark cloud had a sort of silver lining—ballot measures. At the state level, workers won minimum wage increases in four states and paid sick leave in two. Voters approved an increase to $12 an hour by 2020 in Arizona, Colorado and Maine. Washington voted to raise the minimum …
The Bright Spots for Workers Amid Tuesday’s Disastrous Election Read More »
It’s become a regular feature of elections in recent years: Even as the federal minimum wage stays stuck at $7.25 an hour, with congressional Republicans refusing to raise it, voters resoundingly choose to raise state and local minimum wages. Four states voted for minimum wage increases on Tuesday: Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Washington. Paid sick …
Voters raise the minimum wage in four states and pass paid sick leave in two Read More »
I work in the United Airlines terminal as a baggage handler at O’Hare Airport in Chicago. Not too long ago, the people doing my job made $22 an hour. Then United outsourced the jobs to Prospect. Now I’m paid just $11 an hour. Let’s do the math. That’s half of what they used to pay. …
There’s a lot more going on in this election than the presidential race between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump. Borne out of the dedication and hard work of activists, ballot initiatives give citizens the opportunity to vote directly on legislation and constitutional amendments at the state and local level, sometimes even …
Minimum Wage Increases On the Ballot In Four States Read More »
Voters in Arizona and Minneapolis, Minnesota, will have the chance to vote on minimum wage increases this November, according to court rulings in both places. In Minneapolis: A Hennepin County judge on Monday overruled the Minneapolis City Council’s decision to block a $15 minimum wage charter amendment, ordering that the issue be placed on the …
Minneapolis and Arizona voters will get a chance to raise the minimum wage Read More »
The national movement toward a minimum wage of $15 an hour is picking up steam in Baltimore, with a key test of strength for the local movement expected before the end of the summer. The City Council’s Labor Committee met this week to begin the process of moving legislation to a vote, hearing testimony from …
Baltimore May Be the Next City to Adopt a $15 Minimum Wage Read More »
Magdalena Zylinska has been working in people’s homes for most of the last two decades since she came to the United States from Poland. She spent some time as a nanny and a caregiver, but since 1997, she’s been a full-time housekeeper. But it wasn’t until she took classes with Arise Chicago, a worker organization, …
Nannies And Housekeepers In Illinois Just Won A Major Victory Read More »
BALTIMORE—Although it was nowhere on the ballot, the Fight for 15 was a winner in the municipal elections here Tuesday. In a Democratic Party primary election that selected candidates for both a new mayor and a new majority of the city council, supporters of a city-wide minimum wage law of $15 an hour appear to have …
Tuesday’s Baltimore Primary Results Mean a $15 Minimum Wage Is Likely Coming Soon Read More »
Maryland will soon become the second state, after New Hampshire, to phase out the “subminimum wage” for workers with disabilities. Maryland lawmakers this month passed a bill that would do away with special wage certificates that allow employers to pay disabled workers according to productivity rather than hours worked. The law affects all 36 of …
President Obama’s long-awaited increase in overtime pay eligibility has taken the next step to being a reality—a reality that would mean five million American workers would get overtime pay if they worked extra hours: The Department of Labor (DOL) has sent its finalized changes to the rule expanding who is covered by overtime laws to …
This week in the war on workers: Five million workers a step closer to overtime pay Read More »
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
