(Cross-posted from The COFAR Blogsite) It apparently took the threat of a major strike, but the Connecticut Legislature passed a bill and the Connecticut governor signed it earlier this year to raise the minimum wage of direct-care … [Read more...]
Miraculously the Republicans Rediscover the Average American
As if by magic, the Republican Party has rediscovered most of the rest of us. My neck is still stiff from the political whiplash I sustained when the Grand Old Party radically made its 180-degree course change back to the political middle. … [Read more...]
What’s the Matter with Massachusetts? (thoughts on Beacon Hill, the minimum wage and the grassroots)
Updates, 3/27/2014: To no one's surprise, the House legislation is missing key provisions -- no indexing and too low of an increase for tipped workers. Now the push comes to the Amendments, and the hardball is, apparently, around the … [Read more...]
Minimum Wage and the Achievement Gap
Raise the Minimum Wage, Reduce the Achievement Gap by Senator Pat Jehlen Last month, the Senate voted to restore the minimum wage to its 1968 value, raising it to $11. (This newsletter is a version of my … [Read more...]
Progressive movement in the Legislature this Fall
With the Legislature ending its formal session for the year last week, it’s exciting to see the progressive victories that have happened over the past few months, and the momentum that is building in large part due to the work of liberal … [Read more...]
Working Families Can’t Afford to Wait Any Longer
Today, I met with a group of men and women who work out at the airport. They clean the planes, serve as wheelchair attendants – do many of the jobs that we often take for granted. But despite their hard work and long hours, many of them … [Read more...]
How the Fast Food Industry’s Low Wages Cost Massachusetts $173 Million a Year
People who work hard everyday shouldn’t have to depend on food stamps to get by. Yet for many who work at fast-food companies nationwide, it is a way of life. This week, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley released a … [Read more...]
Low-wage Workers Share Their Stories with US Labor Secretary in Boston
When major economic policies like the minimum wage are debated in Washington, the conversation tends to get bogged down in complex numbers and political jargon. Unfortunately, what gets lost in the process are the personal stories -- the … [Read more...]
Happy 100th Birthday to the Minimum Wage! And Many Happy Returns.
In a quiet ceremony on June 4, 1912, Governor Eugene Foss signed the nation's first statute for a minimum wage, "An Act Establishing the Minimum Wage Commission for the Determination of Minimum Wages for Women and Minors." While it may seem … [Read more...]
The value of Wal-Mart in America today. Just sayin’.
First, by way of thanks. I would like to thank everyone on the Newbury Democratic Town Committee for organizing and then actually pulling off a stellar and important event like this right in my own backyard. I was even let in, as a member … [Read more...]