To grasp the sheer magnitude of U.S. economic inequality in recent years, consider its two major stock market indices: the Standard and Poor (S&P) 500 and Nasdaq. Over the last 10 years, the values of shares listed on them grew spectacularly. The S&P 500 went from roughly 1,300 points to over 3,800 points, almost tripling. …
The U.S. Economy Excels at One Thing: Producing Massive Inequality Read More »
After nearly a decade of activism, the Fight for $15 stands closer than ever to achieving its most visible goal: a $15 federal minimum wage. Leaders of the campaign, however, say that their work is only beginning. “The next two years is the biggest window [of opportunity] we’ve had in my 40 years in the labor movement,” says Mary Kay Henry, …
With Minimum Wage Victory in Reach, The Fight for $15 Vows Bigger Things to Come Read More »
Washington, DC. Underpaid frontline workers have been among the hardest hit by the pandemic, but many can expect a bit of relief in the New Year—in the form of small but welcomed pay raises—thanks to minimum wage increases taking effect in dozens of states and municipalities around the nation. On January 1st, 20 states and …
NEW YEAR BRINGS MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES FROM COAST TO COAST Read More »
Millions of full-time, adult workers in the United States?—?many of them employed by Walmart, McDonald’s and other highly profitable corporations?—?are paid wages so low they’re forced to rely on public assistance to make ends meet. That is the key finding of a newly released report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO). Commissioned by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I?Vt.), the …
On November 3, Florida’s politically diverse electorate showed resounding support for Amendment 2, an initiative to gradually raise the state minimum wage from $8.56 an hour to $15 by 2026. This makes Florida the eighth state nationwide, and the first state in the South, to get on track towards a $15 minimum wage. This victory contrasts sharply with the loss of Biden in the state, …
The $15 Minimum Wage Won in Florida, But Biden Didn’t. Here’s Why. Read More »
The U.S. workplace will look much different with Joe Biden in the Oval Office — with some significant changes possible even if Republicans maintain a majority in the Senate. “Biden, who won the endorsement of almost every major union in the country, has made labor reform a fundamental part of his program and is widely expected to name at least …
What the workplace will look like under a Biden White House Read More »
The minimum wage in the United States hasn’t budged in 11 years. Whether it should was a hotly contested question during Thursday’s final presidential debate. President Donald Trump asserted that increasing the minimum wage would crush small businesses, many of which are already struggling as a result of the pandemic, arguing that the decision should be …
Increasing the minimum wage would help, not hurt, the economy Read More »
Unemployment remains sky-high (no matter what Donald Trump tries to tell you), and four million workers have had their pay or hours cut due to the pandemic. For people who are still on the job, there’s some good news in some cities and states in the form of minimum wage increases that went into effect on July 1. In Illinois, …
Minimum wage rises some places, but it’s still the COVID-19 economy Read More »
As the Covid-19 pandemic has swept through cities across the country, restaurants have been forced to shut down indefinitely—or slashed their workforces and reduced their operations to threadbare delivery and take-out only services. Saru Jayaraman, President of One Fair Wage, an advocacy group for restaurant workers and other tipped service employees (including Uber and Doordash drivers, …
How to Save the Restaurant Workforce From Being Casualties of The Covid-19 Crisis Read More »
Last week I asked everyone to consider the coronavirus pandemic as a pretty clarifying picture of class warfare—who are the people who get hurt most when millions of jobs go away or at best are in limbo because of a nationwide shutdown? It’s working people, minimum wage workers, service workers—almost none of whom have enough …
Corona and Class Warfare Part II: Stopping a Multi-Dollar CEO Pension Tax Break 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.
