voters in san francisco on tuesday approved a minimum wage of $15 across the city, joining seattle, which raised it's pay to the same amount in june. like folks in seattle, workers in san francisco will see their wages augmented incrementally. by next may it'll be $12.25, and climb to $13 in 2016. in 2018, it will be $15: or, $31,000 a year for a full-time minimum wage employees.
minimum wage also got a boost in four traditionally conservative states after the midterm elections yesterday. in alaska, the hourly pay rate for low-wage workers increases to $9.75 by 2016. in arkansas, their pay is boosted to $8.50, while nebraska voters approved a new hourly salary of $9.00. south dakota workers next year will get $8.50.
the current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. fast food workers and low-wage retail employees over the last two years organized living wage campaigns across the country. their advocacy led to strikes, protests and arrests for some. president obama supported a bill to raise wages to $10.10 per hour but it died on the senate floor in april.
some large retail chains have raised hourly wages for their employees. gap, inc. - the parent company of the gap, banana republic and old navy - announced a new $10 minimum wage back in february. obama showed his appreciation the following month when he bought sweaters for the first lady and their daughters at a new york store.
workers at walmart, however, continue to advocate for a raise in salary. last month, 42 low-wage retail workers and their allies were arrested outside walmart heiress alice walton's park avenue co-op apartment in manhattan. inspired by voters in san francisco and seattle, they demand $15 an hour for their services.
some of their overworked and undervalued employees carried signs which read, 'walmart stole my american dream.' they're supported by members of unions, including the ufcw 888 local. the 888 local boasts a membership of over 10,000 workers in connecticut, new jersey, new york and pennsylvania. before marching, union organizers made sure only workers and allies without prior arrest records engaged in civil disobedience.
i am
- mark j. tuggle
- harlem, usa
- same-gender-loving contemporary descendant of enslaved africans. community activist, feminist, health educator, independent filmmaker, mentor, playwright, poet & spiritual being. featured at, in & on africana.com, afrikan poetry theatre, angel herald, bejata dot com, bet tonight with tavis smiley, blacklight online, black noir, brooklyn moon cafe, gmhc's barbershop, klmo-fm, lgbt community services center, longmoor productions, nuyorican poets cafe, our corner, poz, pulse, rolling out new york, rush arts gallery, saint veronica's church, schomburg center for research in black culture, sexplorations, the citizen, the new york times, the soundz bar, the trenton times, the village voice, upn news, uzuri, venus, vibe, wbai-fm, wnyc-fm & wqht-fm. volunteered with adodi, bailey house, inc., black men's xchange-new york, colorofchange.org, drug policy alliance, east harlem tutorial program, imagenation film & music festival, presente.org, save darfur coalition, the enough project, the osborne association, the sledge group & your black world. worked on films with maurice jamal & heather murphy. writing student of phil bertelsen & ed bullins. mjt975@msn.com.
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