Time for a Raise

From 2013-2014, I worked on Ralph Nader’s Time for a Raise campaign, a project aimed at raising the federal minimum wage, supporting state and local minimum wage raise campaigns, and pressuring the poverty wage regimes of big box retailers and fast food chains.

Here’s some writing from and coverage of the campaign:

The Washington Post covered the campaign we were a part of to raise DC’s minimum wage:

States and municipalities across the country are leading a localized push to raise the minimum wage, driven largely by Democrats, who see an opening to appeal to working-class Americans at a time of growing inequity.

Efforts in Congress to raise the national minimum wage above $7.25 an hour have stalled. But numerous local governments — including those of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, and the District — are forging ahead, in some cases voting to dramatically increase the pay of low-wage workers.

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Pete Davis, an analyst with the Center for Study of Responsive Law, a think tank headed by liberal activist Ralph Nader, said a lack of uniformity is a poor reason not to take action. “The D.C. area has one of the highest costs of living in the nation, so it makes sense that they are going to lead the charge on fighting back on inequality,” he said.

Elrich said he is also fine with pricey urban areas having different minimum wages than more rural ones, where the cost of living is lower. “What’s right for Montgomery or the D.C. region as a whole may not be what’s right for another jurisdiction,” he said.

The political ramifications of the Washington jurisdictions’ effort are likely to be clearer than the economic ones.

A local D.C. economy already under intense scrutiny for its ties to the federal government will be even more so as partisan observers try to determine whether every job lost or gained relates to some of the nation’s highest minimum-wage requirements.

And Davis said he sees the effort as the start of something bigger, especially for urban areas: “When a region like D.C., Prince George’s and Montgomery can do it, and they are successful, people are going to start to realize you can do it in New York and Chicago and Dallas and across the country.”

Here was a news segment on our push:

Here’s a letter to the editor I had in the Washington Post about the campaign in DC:

In the July 11 front-page article “Council approves ‘living wage’ bill,” The Post placed front and center the claim that the District’s Large Retailer Accountability Act requires big-box-store employers to pay “a 50 percent premium over the city’s minimum wage,” a phrasing that could have left readers wondering whether the act goes too far. It is important to note, however, that the act calls not for a $12.50 wage but rather a $12.50 wage minus benefits, stating clearly: “The prorated hourly cost of any benefits that a large retailer chooses to provide an employee may be credited toward payment of the minimum hourly compensation required under this act.”

If Wal-Mart gave its District employees the health benefits they deserve, their minimum wage under the act would amount to significantly less than a “50 percent premium” over the current wage. Within the limits of the act, Wal-Mart can pay an hourly wage less than $12.50 if it offers its District workers, as the act states, “benefits related to health care, retirement security, disability, training and education, or paid leave.”

And here’s a speech I gave at the “Town Hall for a D.C. Living Wage” about Walmart and living wages:

A transcript of the speech is here.