a training for activists
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A Training for Activists. By Labor Education Service University of Minnesota. Quiz: What was the year?. “High hourly wages mean nothing to a worker if he has no job.” C.C. Shepard, Southern States Industrial Council, 1938. . - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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A Training for ActivistsBy Labor Education Service
University of Minnesota
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Quiz: What was the year?
“High hourly wages mean nothing to a worker if he has no job.”
C.C. Shepard, Southern States Industrial Council, 1938.
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“Any temporary advantage to our two million employees would be more than offset by
immediate unemployment within our industry. [A] national minimum wage within our industry is impractical and dangerous.”
George R. LeSauvage, National Restaurant Association, 1949.
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“The meager net profit return presently ‘enjoyed’ by retailers will leave them little or no alternative but to pass the
additional costs on the consumers in the form of higher prices.”
James J. Bliss, National Retails Merchants Assn., 1965.
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“The increased minimum wage is a disaster to thousands of small husband-
wife businesses whose owners are literally working themselves to death because they cannot afford the higher
wage scale.”
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “Minimum Wage Hike Maximizes
Problems,” Nation’s Business, 1979.
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Experiences with minimum wage work
• Introduce yourself to someone you don’t know
• Share your experiences with minimum wage work: you, your family or friends, your community, congregation, etc.
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WHO ARE MINIMUM WAGE WORKERS IN MINNESOTA?
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77% are over age 20
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Abby Aguirre, New York Times
33% are parents or married
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57% are women
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77% are white
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Yet workers of color would benefit at higher rates:
1 in 3 Hispanic workers
1 in 5 black workers
1 in 6 Asian workers
1 in 8 white workers
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Almost half have some college education
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Over 75% are working more than 20 hours/week
Over 75% are working more than 20 hours/ week
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Why raise the minimum wage?
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$14.03Cost of living in MN
Today’s minimum wage worth less
Source: Economic Policy Institute, 2013.
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THE NEW LOW-WAGE ECONOMY
Who benefits from low wages?
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Top five low-wage industries
Industry Percent low-wage1. Food services 57.42. Accommodation 40.03. Retail trade 36.54. Arts, entertainment & recreation 34.25. Administrative services 33.2
Source: National Employment Law Project
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Source: NELP Analysis of Current Population Survey (2009-2011).
Low-wage employers are large.Share of workforce that is low-wage,
by firm size
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Source: NELP, Big Business, Corporate Profits, and the Minimum Wage, July 2012
Low-wage employers are profitable.In 2012, among the 50 largest low-wage employers:
• 92% were profitable in the previous year
• 78% were profitable for the previous 3 years
• 63% are earning higher profits now than before the recession
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($7.69 to $13.83)
($13.84 to $21.13)
($21.14 to $54.55)
Low wage work is growing
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The result?We grow further apart.
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THE RAISE THE WAGE CAMPAIGN
What can you do?
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During the 2014 Legislative Session, the Raise the Wage coalition hopes to:
1. Raise the minimum wage to at least $9.50 per hour by 2015;
2. Index the minimum wage to inflation;
3. Stop tip penalty amendments;
4. Conform our state minimum wage law to federal standards.
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Our ResponseOur Opponents• This bill will kill jobs.
• It’s bad for the economy & small businesses.
• It will hurt minimum wage workers with higher prices & job loss.
• Studies show no impact on employment levels.
• $472 million in new spending per year is good for the economy.
• 360,000 workers, esp. women and people of color, will get a raise.
• 137,000 children in homes with higher income (1 in every 10 kids!)
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What’s Happening Next
• Last year, the House and Senate passed two different versions of the bill ($9.50 and $7.75 respectively).
• The bills are now in conference committee.
• When the 2014 session starts Feb. 25th, the conference committee will try to reach an agreement.
• Both the House and Senate will need to vote on the conference committee report.
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The Raise the Wage Campaign
• We are a growing coalition of faith, labor, and non-profit organizations.
• Field.
• Communications.
• Lobbying.
• Outreach.
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What Can YOU Do?
• Sign the petition or the organizational endorsement form.
• Organize others.
• Talk with elected officials.
• Tell your story to the press.
• Fill out the commitment form.
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We can raise the wage in MN!