A Training for ActivistsBy 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.

“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.

“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.

“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.

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.

 

WHO ARE MINIMUM WAGE WORKERS IN MINNESOTA?

77% are over age 20

Abby Aguirre, New York Times

33% are parents or married

57% are women

77% are white

Yet workers of color would benefit at the highest rate:

1 in 3 Hispanic workers

1 in 5 black workers

1 in 6 Asian workers

1 in 8 white workers

Almost half have some college education

Over 75% are working more than 20 hours/week

Over 75% are working more than 20 hours/ week

Why raise the minimum wage?

$14.03Cost of living in MN

Today’s minimum wage worth less

Source: Economic Policy Institute, 2013.

THE NEW LOW-WAGE ECONOMY

Who benefits from low wages?

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

Source: NELP Analysis of Current Population Survey (2009-2011).

Low-wage employers are large.Share of workforce that is low-wage,

by firm size

Source: NELP, Big Business, Corporate Profits, and the Minimum Wage, July 2012

Low-wage employers are profitable.

During 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

($7.69 to $13.83)

($13.84 to $21.13)

($21.14 to $54.55)

Low wage work is growing

We grow further apart.

THE RAISE THE WAGE CAMPAIGN

What can you do?

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.

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 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!)

What’s Happening Next

• Two bills were passed in 2013 and were referred to conference committee.

• No agreement was reached on the different bills.

• In the 2014 session starting Feb. 25th, the conference committee work will continue.

• Both the House and Senate will need to vote on the conference committee bill.

The Raise the Wage Campaign

• We are a growing coalition of faith, labor, and non-profit organizations.

• Field.

• Communications.

• Lobbying.

• Outreach.

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.

We can raise the wage in MN!