We have a lot to celebrate this Labor Day. Workers have made significant gains in raising the minimum wage, guaranteeing paid sick days and paid family leave and cracking down on wage theft.
Minimum Wage
Fighting for a Living Wage in Cities Across America
Low-wage workers around the country—the majority of whom are women—gathered Tuesday to strike for $15 an hour. The Fight for 15 campaign, now in its third year, began with fast-food workers demanding better wages, and now includes factory laborers, home- and child-care workers, janitors, retail employees and others earning less than $15 an hour. The […]
NEWSFLASH: N.Y. Fast-Food Workers to Get $15 Minimum Wage
“You cannot live and support a family on $18,000 in the State of New York, period,” said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) this week. “That’s why we have to raise the minimum wage.” And so they are, at least for fast-food employees working at chains with a minimum 30 U.S. locations. On Wednesday, New […]
The Fearless Fight for $15
On Wednesday, dozens of social justice advocates, fast-food workers, clergy members, labor leaders and members of the local community descended upon Los Angeles City Hall to stage a rally in support of the 15 women who have been fasting for more than two weeks for “Fight for 15,” a nationwide campaign to raise the minimum wage to $15 […]
NEWSFLASH: U.S. Workers Strike in 160 Cities
Fast-food workers are holding strikes in 160 cities today, calling for a $15 minimum wage and the right to unionize. For the first time, these workers are joined by airport baggage handlers, skycaps, wheelchair attendants and aircraft cleaners. In a series of protests starting in November 2012, the “fight for 15” has spread across the […]
NEWSFLASH: Chicago Approves Minimum Wage Hike
It can only go up from here. On Tuesday, in an effort to pull working families out of poverty, Chicago’s City Council approved a minimum wage hike, increasing the hourly wage of some 410,000 workers (one-third of the city’s workforce) from $8.25 to $13 incrementally over the next five years. The bill, proposed by Chicago Mayor […]
NEWSFLASH: Walmart Workers to Strike on Black Friday
Scooping up bargains will be a little more difficult this Black Friday (November 28) when workers at an estimated 1,600 Walmart locations strike for a living wage. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) and OUR Walmart have partnered to help workers demand a $15/hour minimum wage and guaranteed full-time hours. The organizations are using the Black […]
The Good News From Last Night’s Election
Last night’s election was rough, y’all. We know. But we swear there’s some good news to report! Read on for our post-election roundup of feminist victories (and share them with friends while drowning your sorrows in mimosas). Voters defeated personhood measures in Colorado (for the third time!) and in North Dakota. That’s a big victory. The […]
Wisconsin Political Candidate Tells Fast-Food Workers to “Get a Real Job”
And the victim-blaming of the impoverished continues. The Republican candidate for attorney general in Wisconsin, Brad Schimel, recently explained to supporters that this whole minimum wage debate wouldn’t be happening if those poors could just get their lives together: I want every one of our neighbors to have a job again, a well-paid job, so we […]
NEWSFLASH: Hundreds of Striking Fast-Food Workers Arrested
Nearly 500 fast-food workers were arrested Thursday in strikes around the country. Thousands of cashiers and cooks in 150 U.S. cities walked off their jobs at McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and other fast-food chains demanding a $15-an-hour minimum wage and union rights. The Fight for 15 campaign started back in November of 2012 and since […]