Chicago Fast Food, Retail Workers Go On Strike, “Fight for $15″

shortlink here: http://wp.me/p2w2NH-mQ  mnemonic here: http://urlet.com/anyway.too

Chicago Fast Food, Retail Workers Go On Strike For Higher Wages

Photo credit: Ryan L. Williams
Hundreds of retail and fast food workers went on a coordinated strike this morning to call for a living wage of $15 an hour and the right to unionize without interference.

http://chicagoist.com/2013/04/24/chicago_fast_food_retail_workers_go.php

Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago issues new report:  A Case for $15:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/115415149/A-Case-for-15

Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago / Fight for 15 – Lucha por 15 WOCC: https://www.facebook.com/Fightfor15

Fast Food Forward (NYC):  https://www.facebook.com/FastFoodForward

#strikefor15, #fightfor15, #fastfoodforward

KIEM ch3 nbc Eureka Interviews Eureka Fair Wage Act Proponent James Decker

KIEM asks Eureka Fair Wage Act proponent James Decker some pertinent questions about raising the minimum wage to $12 in Eureka – and gets some straight answers.

http://kiem-tv.com/node/5028

While you are there take the poll!

http://kiem-tv.com/node/5024

The Laboratory of Life

shortlink here: http://wp.me/p2w2NH-la  mnemonic here:  http://urlet.com/simplicity.buying

It is said that we don’t need a minimum wage, that a minimum wage causes unemployment, that if the minimum wage were lower – or completely eliminated – then employers could afford to hire more workers.  It is said often that this is “supply and demand” and an ironclad “law of economics.”  It is of course an argument designed to appeal to the simpler minded half of the gene pool.

Yet two facts confront us.  

One, the real purchasing power in constant dollar terms of the minimum wage has declined for 45 years, so there has been a de facto “lowering” of the minimum wage, and Two, we currently have a very persistent and high level of unemployment.  

The laboratory of life has proved this favorite Chamber of Commerce meme to be a fabrication that is nowhere near real life economics.

We conclude that the theory that lowering the minimum wage increases employment is FALSE.

shortlink here: http://wp.me/p2w2NH-la

urlet:  http://urlet.com/simplicity.buying

Eureka Fair Wage Act Meetings EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT

Eureka Fair Wage Act Meetings EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT

People welcome to the meetings even if you live outside of Eureka.

The Fair Wage folks urge you to get involved in passing the Eureka Fair Wage Act, also known as the Minimum Wage Ordinance.  If passed through a popular vote, the Act would require large employers with 25 or more workers in Eureka to pay a $12 dollar minimum wage.  A higher minimum wage, with a small business exception, will improve lives, make Walmart reconsider its presence in Eureka, boost the local economy, bring employment up, and allow individuals who work full time to rise just above the federal poverty level.

Meetings for the Eureka Fair Wage Act are now every Wednesday at 6:15pm at the Eureka Labor Temple, 840 E Street.  More information can be found and questions answered by visiting the Eureka Fair Wage Act website, fairwages.org, or by calling 707-442-7465.  If you are interested in helping the campaign in any way, wherever you live, please get in contact.

NCJ: Eureka Fair Wage Initiative “Easily” Qualifies for Ballot – Will Be Before City Council Mar. 19

shortlink here:  http://wp.me/p2w2NH-jG

The Eureka Fair Wage campaign is delighted that we easily surpassed the 10% signature threshold, guaranteeing ballot access for the Eureka Fair Wage Act. We believe, however, and hope to prove, that we gathered enough signatures to cross the 15% threshold which would put the Fair Wage Act on a ballot even sooner.

Please come out to the Eureka City Council meeting at 6:00pm, Tuesday March 19 and show your support for the Eureka Fair Wage Act. The Fair Wage Act (or “Minimum Wage Ordinance”) will be on the agenda. The City Council has the option, again, to listen to the needs of the people and simply pass the Act, raising the minimum wage for large employers to pay their workers in Eureka. If the Council does not, we will continue organizing and pass the initiative at the ballot box!

Wage Hike Proposal Headed to Eureka City Council

North Coast Journal, Ryan Burns, Mar. 8, 2013

Here’s a ray of hope for people working at Eureka’s Taco Bell. Or Wal-Mart. Or any other business in the city that pays workers as little as the law will tolerate:

A petition to boost Eureka’s minimum wage to $12 an hour has received enough valid signatures to be presented to the City Council at its March 19 meeting.

http://urlet.com/games.leading or:

http://www.northcoastjournal.com/blogthing/2013/03/08/wage-hike-proposal-headed-eureka-city-council/

Times-Standard Coverage:

http://www.times-standard.com/breakingnews/ci_22751562/fair-wage-act-go-before-eureka-city-council

Rasmussen Poll: 54% Favor Raising Minimum Wage to $9 An Hour

“Most voters don’t think the minimum wage is enough to live on and support President Obama’s proposal to raise it from $7.25 an hour to $9 an hour. They’re more narrowly divided, however, when asked if hiking the minimum wage will be good for the economy.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 54% of Likely U.S. Voters favor raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour. Thirty-four percent (34%) are opposed, while 12% are not sure.

The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on February 14-15, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.”

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/jobs_employment/february_2013/54_favor_raising_minimum_wage_to_9_an_hour

http://truth-out.org/news/item/14685-poll-voters-say-minimum-wage-is-not-enough-to-live-on

Jim Hightower: Do More Than the Minimum on Minimum Wage

Do more than the minimum on minimum wage

Monday, February 18, 2013   |

Posted by Jim Hightower

podcast http://jimhightower.com/sites/jimhightower.civicactions.net/files/5-21_m_show.mp3

story http://jimhightower.com/node/7962

“In the wealthiest nation on Earth,” President Obama declared in his State of the Union speech, “no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty.”   Right! Not only does his call to raise America’s minimum wage put some real pop in populism, but it could finally start putting some ethics back in our country’s much-celebrated, (but rarely-honored) “work ethic.” Kudos to Obama for putting good economics and good morals together – and for putting this long overdue increase on the front burner.

But then came the number: $9 an hour. Excuse me, Mr. President, but that means a person who “works full-time” would nonetheless “have to live in poverty.” Yes, nine bucks is a buck-seventy-five better than the current pay, but it’s still a poverty wage, and it doesn’t even elevate the buying power of our wage floor back to where it was in 1968.

~VISIT LINKS ABOVE FOR THE REST OF IT~

George Clark & Linda Atkins Propose Ordinance to Raise the Minimum Wage (2008)

“Linda Atkins and I are both running for Eureka City Council and we have proposed an ordinance raising Eureka’s minimum wage by $1.”

George Clark, LTE, Times-Standard, Oct. 23, 2008

http://www.times-standard.com/ci_10792606

George Clark & Linda Atkins 2008 Campaign Statement on the Need to Raise the Minimum Wage in Eureka

FRANK JAGER: Job killer

October 6, 2008 Heraldo  Leave a comment Go to comments

http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2008/10/06/frank-jager-job-killer/

From the Clark/Atkins campaign:

GEORGE CLARK AND LINDA ATKINS REBUT JÄGER AND ENDERT ON RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE

“Yesterday’s Eureka Reporter article: “Two Candidates Suggest Raising Minimum Wage,” discussed George Clark and Linda Atkins proposal to raise Eureka’s minimum wage from $8 to $9 per hour.

Concerned about the fact that Eureka’s workers’ median income level is only 51% of the statewide average, Clark and Atkins feel that raising the minimum wage is a necessary first step, as part of a comprehensive effort to get Eureka’s economy back on track.

The article also featured the reaction of Linda and George’s opponents in their race for Eureka City Council: Polly Endert and Frank Jäger respectively. “It’s totally the wrong approach,” according to Polly Endert and Frank Jäger added, “It’s a great idea, but it’s a job killer.”  The evidence shows minimum wage initiatives are neither “totally wrong” nor “job killers.” They are, however, often resisted by entrenched moneyed interests whose influence in this campaign once again threatens the future of Eureka’s working families. When it comes to raising the minimum wage, Linda Atkins and George Clark feel the facts should speak for themselves.

Over the past 12 years around 140 States and Municipalities have enacted living wage measures and 29 states and the District of Columbia all operate with minimum wages above the Federal standard. There is now a rich body of evidence in this area, none of which supports Jäger or Endert’s claims. In 1995 and in a subsequent study in 2000, David Card and Alan Krueger, “consistently found that changes in the minimum wage have not tended to raise unemployment by any discernible amount (and indeed have tended to be associated with slight increases in low-wage employment.”

In 1998 a survey of professional economists at forty leading research universities in the field of labor and public economics published by Victor Fuchs of Stanford and Alan Krueger and James Poterba of MIT conclude that, “the general professional view is, again, that there were no strong negative employment effects, if any, from raising the minimum wage by relatively modest amounts.”

Three more recent studies examining the impact of living wage laws in San Francisco and Los Angeles done in 2005 all agree: “None of these studies finds evidence of significant reductions associated with the implementation of living wages laws.”

A particularly interesting study was done from 2001 to 2005 comparing employment growth between 11 states that operated with minimum wage levels higher than the Federal standard and 33 others that did not. The states operating with the higher minimum wage experienced overall job growth of 0.57 %, while those that maintained the lower Federal minimum wage had a 0.52% growth rate. In other words employment growth was actually slightly faster in those states which paid minimum wages greater than the Federal level.

Given the enormous amount of evidence that contradicts Frank and Polly’s “sky is falling” reaction to the idea of raising the minimum wage for Eureka’s working families, are we to conclude that they simply don’t get it or is this what having “no agenda” means to them?

George Clark and Linda Atkins believe in building our economy from the ground up.  Raising wages in Eureka, which are so far below the state average, is the right and fair thing to do for Eureka’s working families. When the spending power of working families goes up, so does morale, which leads to productivity boosts, lowers job turnover, all in an ongoing “virtuous cycle,” and everyone benefits.  Furthermore, increased spending by Eureka’s workers creates more demand for products, helping businesses while creating more jobs in the process.”
–

Defending the Community

$12.00 An Hour Minimum Wage for Large Employers

http://fairwages.org

http://eurekafairwageact.wordpress.com

info@fairwages.org

Blogging the Eureka Fair Wage Act

Wage Hike Proposal Headed to Eureka City Council

North Coast Journal, Ryan Burns, Mar. 8, 2013

Here’s a ray of hope for people working at Eureka’s Taco Bell. Or Wal-Mart. Or any other business in the city that pays workers as little as the law will tolerate:

A petition to boost Eureka’s minimum wage to $12 an hour has received enough valid signatures to be presented to the City Council at its March 19 meeting.

http://urlet.com/games.leading or:

http://www.northcoastjournal.com/blogthing/2013/03/08/wage-hike-proposal-headed-eureka-city-council/

 

Take the poll at KIEM! Raise wages in Eureka!

Feb. 12, 2013

http://peopleproject.wordpress.com/2013/02/12/take-the-poll-at-kiem-raise-wages-in-eureka-channel-3-news-on-fair-wage-act/

Too Old to Play Full Court

Feb. 11, 2013

http://radmul.blogspot.com/2013/02/too-old-to-play-full-court.html

George Clark & Linda Atkins 2008 Campaign Statement on the Need to Raise the Minimum Wage in Eureka

Feb. 9, 2013

“George Clark and Linda Atkins believe in building our economy from the ground up.  Raising wages in Eureka, which are so far below the state average, is the right and fair thing to do for Eureka’s working families. When the spending power of working families goes up, so does morale, which leads to productivity boosts, lowers job turnover, all in an ongoing “virtuous cycle,” and everyone benefits.  Furthermore, increased spending by Eureka’s workers creates more demand for products, helping businesses while creating more jobs in the process.”

http://eurekafairwageact.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/george-clark-linda-atkins-2008-campaign-statement-on-the-need-to-raise-the-minimum-wage-in-eureka/

http://highboldtage.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/george-clark-linda-atkins-2008-campaign-statement-on-the-need-to-raise-the-minimum-wage-in-eureka/

http://humboldtactivist.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/george-clark-linda-atkins-2008-campaign-statement-on-the-need-to-raise-the-minimum-wage-in-eureka/

Eureka Wages Going Up?

February 8, 2013

http://www.northcoastjournal.com/blogthing/2013/02/08/eureka-wages-going/

Fair Wage Folks Turn in Signatures at Eureka City Hall for $12 Minimum Wage Ordinance

February 8, 2013

http://humboldtactivist.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/fair-wage-folks-turn-in-signatures-at-eureka-city-hall-for-12-minimum-wage-ordinance/ and:

http://highboldtage.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/fair-wage-folks-turn-in-signatures-at-eureka-city-hall-for-12-minimum-wage-ordinance/

Last week of signature gathering for Eureka Fair Wage Act

January 26, 2013

http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/last-week-of-signature-gathering-for-eureka-fair-wage-act/

Eureka Fair Wage Act

January 19, 2013

http://radmul.blogspot.com/2012/07/eureka-fair-wage-act.html

Occupy Minimum Wage

January 17, 2013

http://www.northcoastjournal.com/arts/2013/01/17/occupy-minimum-wage/

Benefit for Eureka Fair Wage Act; Rooster McClintock, Jan 19

January 8, 2013

http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/benefit-for-eureka-fair-wage-act-rooster-mcclintock-jan-19/ and http://highboldtage.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/benefit-fundraiser-for-the-eureka-fair-wage-act/ and http://tomsebourn.blogspot.com/2013/01/fundraiser-for-eureka-fair-wage-act.html

Benefit for Fair Wages

January 7, 2013

http://thebicyclegnome.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/fair-wade-benefit/

“Fair Wage Cafe” next Saturday

December 8, 2012

http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/fair-wage-cafe-next-saturday/

Fair Wage Graphic Contest offers $100 reward

December 1, 2012

http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2012/12/01/fair-wage-graphic-contest-offers-100-reward/

Eureka Fair Wage Act — What do people think?

November 26, 2012

http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/eureka-fair-wage-act-what-do-people-think/

Group seeks Eureka Fair Wage Act

September 30, 2012

http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2012/09/30/group-seeks-eureka-fair-wage-act/

The Drive For Fair Wages in Eureka

September 8, 2012

“After being out for two or three sessions of sig gathering for the Eureka Fair Wage Act  I can say that I am stoked about how well people are taking to the message.  It is very easy to get people to sign, and it is fun.  We are meeting lots of new people and making new friends.  Some people are saying “$12.00 an hour?  HELL YEAH!”  Some folks are thanking us for the work we are doing!”   “We are fixing what is broken.”

http://highboldtage.wordpress.com/2012/09/08/the-drive-for-fair-wages-in-eureka/

EUREKA FAIR WAGE ACT – THE BEGINNING

August 14, 2012

http://highboldtage.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/eureka-fair-wage-act-the-beginning/

Eureka Fair Wage Act

August 13, 2012

http://northbayuprising.blogspot.com/2012/08/eureka-fair-wage-act.html

We File

July 26, 2012

http://thebicyclegnome.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/we-file/

The Fair Wage Proponents

July 26, 2012

http://thebicyclegnome.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/the-initiative-proponents/

Fair Wage Initiative Filed in Eureka California

July 26, 2012

http://highboldtage.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/fair-wage-initiative-filed-in-eureka-california/

Eureka Fair Wage Act

July 20, 2012

http://thebicyclegnome.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/eureka-fair-wage-act/

Eureka Fair Wage Act Initiative

July 19, 2012

http://highboldtage.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/eureka-fair-wage-act-initiative/