'Wage Wars' Archives

Top

blog

Stories

New Jersey Wants to Raise Its Smoking Age to 21, Too

By John Surico
Democracy Now! Hosts Cooper Union Debate

By Sydney Brownstone
Quinn on Street Fatalities

By John Surico
Hurricane Sandy Hotel Evacuees Evade Housing Crisis

By Sydney Brownstone
Liu Gives Back Dirty Cash

By John Surico
What to Do if You Get Vito Lopez'd at Work

By Sydney Brownstone
City Dragged Stop-and-Frisk Judge Through the Mud

By Ryan Devereaux
The New Yorker Launches Project Developed by Aaron Swartz

By Sydney Brownstone
Union Square is Getting a Massive Wi-Fi Expansion in June

By Sydney Brownstone
We May Have a Weiner in the Mayoral Race by Next Week

By John Surico

Wage Wars

New Report Details Plans for Low-Wage Worker Justice

By Jason Lewis Thu., Feb. 14 2013 at 1:34 PM

Categories: Labor, Wage Wars

Jason Lewis/Village Voice

A panel of labor policy experts dicuss the plight of low-wage workers at yesterday's symposium.

When a worker in this city has to endure a three-hour walk to work because his minimum wage salary doesn't allow for him to afford public transportation, that's a problem.

Low-wage workers across the city have stood up in the past year to demand that such insecurity be eradicated and to pressure employers to finally begin to provide them with just compensation for their labor.

Building on the progress generated by these worker-led movements--in industries such as retail, fast-food, airline security and car washing--UnitedNY, the Center for Popular Democracy and other advocacy groups held a symposium and released a report yesterday analyzing the state of the city's low-wage worker movement.

Tags:

Email to Friend

Write to Editor

Print Article

Wage Wars

Cuomo's Push for Minimum Wage Hike is a Good Start, But it's Not Quite Enough, Critics Say

By Jason Lewis Fri., Jan. 11 2013 at 1:57 PM

Categories: Andrew Cuomo, Wage Wars

Gov. Andrew Cuomo

Low-wage workers and advocates took New York City by storm at the close of last year with mass demonstrations across the city for better wages and work-place conditions.

Thus, one might assume that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's call for a $1.50 minimum wage increase during his annual State of the State address would signal a great victory for those advocating for higher worker wages.

But it turns out that while advocates for wage increases are happy to see the governor put his stamp of approval on a potential wage-hike, many also contend that a $8.75/hour minimum wage still isn't enough for workers and their families to survive.

"Is $8.75 sufficient? Of course not , but it's a huge step in the right direction." James Parrott, chief economist at the Fiscal Policy Institute, tells the Voice. "I think people see that this is the year that this will happened in New York State. This is not going to be the end of it. This is not going to be sufficient."