INDIVISIBLE Lambertville NJ / New Hope PA

Category: Labor/Workers

  • From the Editor

    On Friday, the Federal Department of Labor’s employment numbers came in and the news wasn’t all that great: Only 266,000 non-farming jobs were added compared to expectations of over a million. There’s great consternation over the why of it, with apparently 1.1 jobs available for every unemployed person. The markets, however, went ‘ho-hum,’ with the disappointing news offset by the speculation that this would keep interest rates low. 

    Many are quick to blame the extra money the federal government provides to boost unemployment – all $300 per week. I’ve heard it from local business people and national news. 

    I’m not so sure. 

    With great apologies for this onslaught of numbers, here’s something to consider:  At the low end, if a worker was making minimum wage of $7.25/hour and worked a 40 hour week, their gross pay would be $290. Unemployment in NJ pays 60 percent of the gross wages so they’d get $174 on unemployment, and with the extra $300 they’d get $474 per week, which brings them up to $11.85/hr. 

    A living wage in NJ is currently $16.20; In Pennsylvania, $13.02 (see Income Equality and the Bare Minimum blog in this edition). Assume also that the unemployed worker now has no healthcare coverage unless they’ve applied and qualified for Obamacare. COBRA is ridiculously expensive. And if anyone has ever applied for unemployment, the process isn’t exactly smooth sailing. 

    So what’s going on? I don’t have any educated answers and look forward to seeing what others who do come up with. I do know that it’s largely the service industries that are bemoaning the lack of available and interested labor, but have also made the biggest gains as things begin to open up. Is there a lack of affordable housing and transportation in the areas where businesses are lacking employees? Have some decided that a career change might provide more stability? Is there reluctance to return to work because of concerns or lack of COVID protections? 

    The picture is more complex than the assumption that people don’t want to return to work because they make more on unemployment. This argument is a thinly disguised resurrection of the “welfare queens” fable that the Reagan administration promoted. The same administration that gave us the trickle down economy, the war against unions and decline of worker protections. The GOP, that is now trying to lay claim that it’s the party of Blue Collar Workers. I nearly choked on my tea when I heard that one. 

    The American Jobs Plan and the Green New Deal have the potential for job creation like we haven’t seen since FDR. A majority of them are likely to be blue collar jobs and well-paying ones at that. Many will require new training programs and can be sited in areas that have lost or will lose jobs as older industries fade(d). Yet the GOP stands staunchly in opposition to any such plan. Why? It would raise taxes on the wealthy and businesses and close loopholes that allow them to avoid paying their share. Yet the proposed increase in taxes is still well below what it was even under GW Bush – AFTER his tax cut package: 28% proposed vs 35% under Bush.

    If there is a champion of the blue collar worker, of a healthy, economic recovery and of closing the income inequality gap, it is the Biden-Harris administration and the Democrats in Congress and states who are fighting to make it happen. But the very slim margin of Dems vs GOP means that we must continue to work to elect and re-elect those who truly work for the public good, continue to make our voices heard, continue to shoot down misinformation about why we can’t afford to raise the minimum wage or provide national healthcare – which will take a huge burden off businesses and democratize access, and fight to eliminate or modify the filibuster so it doesn’t get in the way of progress. 

    The opportunity is right now. We have the power, we can make it happen. Let’s do this!

    Much Love, 

    Deb

  • Income Inequality and The Bare Minimum: Is a $15/hour Minimum Wage Enough?

    Contributed by Deb Kline.

    One of the major platforms that progressives have pushed well before President Biden took office is increasing the minimum wage to $15/hour. Many were disappointed to see the wage hike jettisoned from the American Rescue Plan, a victim of the need to get the package through budget reconciliation and avoid a GOP filibuster.  On April 27, however, the Biden-Harris administration signed an executive order that will give raises to up to 390,000 workers by establishing a $15/hour minimum wage for all federal contractors, with the requirement that all federal agencies must include the higher wage in new contract offerings by Jan. 30 of 2022.

    Realistically speaking, is $15/hour enough? In New Jersey, where Governor Murphy signed a legislation incrementally increasing the minimum wage from $8.25 in 2019 to $15 in 2024, the cost of living is roughly 21 percent higher than the average nationally. A living wage for a single adult with no children is $16.20, compared to the current minimum of $11 according to MIT research. 

    In Pennsylvania, minimum wage is the same as the current federally-set minimum at $7.25/hour. While Governor Wolfe has proposed increases in his 2021 budget address, that would only be by .50 cents per year until 2027! The current living wage in the state for a single adult with no children is $13.39 according to MIT. 

    Further, a 2020 National Low Income Housing Coalition analysis showed that workers earning $15 an hour can afford a two-bedroom apartment in just four states: Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and West Virginia.

    What is unconscionable is that the numbers at the top end of wage earners are staggering, 719 billionaires held more wealth than 160 million Americans: $4.56 TRILLION vs $1.01 trillion. For these upper earners, the pandemic was a boon as U.S. billionaire pandemic wealth increased by $1.6 Trillion, or 55%, representing one-third of gains over the last 31 years.

    The pushback against increasing the minimum wage has been and continues to be that a higher minimum means jobs will be lost, so the claims about the gains in livability are offset by the loss of jobs. In fact, even the Congressional Budget Office as recently as this year has published such a statement: 

    Congressional Budget Office: How would increasing the minimum wage affect employment? Raising the minimum wage would increase the cost of employing low-wage workers. As a result, some employers would employ fewer workers than they would have under a lower minimum wage. However, for certain workers or in certain circumstances, employment could increase.

    Changes in employment would be seen in the number of jobless, not just unemployed, workers. Jobless workers include those who have dropped out of the labor force (for example, because they believe no jobs are available for them) as well as those who are searching for work.

    Yet, a September 2019 report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York that found the minimum wage hike in New York State had no immediate discernible effect on job loss, and research published earlier this year suggests that raising the minimum wage by just $1 could lead to a drop in suicide rates. 

    There is also a claim that corporations will do just fine if the minimum wage is mandated at $15, but it’s the small, “Main Street” businesses that will be most adversely affected. While many smaller businesses struggle with what increases will mean for them, i.e. layoffs, higher prices, some economists say that a minor increase in prices may not be detrimental to the business and accounted for by overall inflation. In addition, a higher wage could mean less turnover – something that’s extremely costly to any business –  and a better, happier worker. 

    The initial thinking about the impact of a higher minimum wage on job loss seems to have shifted, according to economist David Cooper, senior analyst at the Economic Policy Institute. After studying some of the states that had mandated a higher minimum wage, Cooper says “economists generally think that the minimum wage’s impact on jobs is fairly small to the point where it’s probably going to be economically not that meaningful on the grand scheme of things.”

    Research from the Fiscal Policy Institute examined three years of small business activity in states that increased the minimum wage above federal standards as well as states that did not. These were some of the researchers’ findings:

    • From 1998 to 2001, the number of small business establishments grew at a rate of 3.1% in states with higher minimum wages, compared with a rate of 1.6% in states with lower minimum wages.
    • Employment grew 1.5% more quickly in states with higher minimum wages.
    • Annual payroll and average payroll per worker increased more quickly in states with higher minimum wages.

    Moreover, additional research published in the Journal of Economic Issues found that minimum wage hikes did not correlate with an increase in small business failures. That research even suggested the opposite is true.

    Arguments against raising the minimum wage appear to dissipate under closer scrutiny, and provide little to no excuse for maintaining a class of working poor in one of the richest countries on the planet. It’s a fact that the poor pay more. In addition, in many cases, those making minimum wage or even higher are subsidized by taxpayer-funded programs such as SNAP, which is also a continual target for those against supporting any government programs aimed at helping those in need (DO YOU HEAR ME GOP?). 

    So, is a $15 minimum wage too much or barely enough? Is it enough to cover uncovered healthcare expenses? Or childcare for one child in NJ where there’s an average cost of $1000/month? Or rent in Philadelphia at $1,652 /month? To cover energy, food, transportation, maintenance and other costs typical for a household? 

    Nope. It’s not enough, but it’s a start. 

    Call to Action: 

    • Call your Senators to support S.53 and Representatives to support HR.603, the Raise the Wage Act of 2021.
    • Support companies that pay a higher than minimum wage. (CAVEAT: check for other practices that may offset the positives. An app called BUYCOTT, enables you to check products and companies for the good, bad and ugly). 

    Sources: 

  • Just the facts – Jobs

    Contributed by Olga Vanucci.

    • The U.S. is down 8.2 million jobs from the pre-pandemic employment level.
    • The American Jobs Plan is expected to create millions of jobs and in the process:
      • Fix highways; rebuild bridges; and upgrade ports, airports, and transit centers.  [construction jobs]
      • Rebuild clean drinking water infrastructure, a renewed electric grid, and high-speed broadband to all Americans.  [construction and technical jobs]
      • Modernize homes, commercial buildings, schools, and federal buildings.  [construction jobs]
      • Create caregiving jobs and raise wages and benefits for essential home care workers.  [home care jobs]
      • Revitalize manufacturing, ensure products are made in America, and invest in innovation.  [manufacturing and engineering jobs]
      • Create good-paying union jobs and train Americans for jobs of the future.  
    • Alongside the American Jobs Plan is the Made in America Tax Plan to make sure corporations pay their fair share and encourage job creation at home. The Made in America Tax Plan would fully pay for the American Jobs Plan within 15 years, if passed alongside one another.

    Sources:  New York Times and  American Jobs Plan | The White House (short version) and FACT SHEET: The American Jobs Plan | The White House (long version) and What’s in the $2 trillion jobs bill? Joe Biden’s American Jobs Act, explained. – Vox

  • The Dissolution of Worker Protections and Rights

    Contributed by Deb Kline.

    The slow, insidious decline in the power of the American Worker can no longer be ignored. Under Trump, The Department of Labor, established under the New Deal, has taken a carving knife to any form of protection killing off panels, agencies and regulations. 

    On May 1, International Workers Day, warehouse workers and grocery employees at Amazon and its subsidiary Whole Foods and gig workers for Instacart and Target-owned Shipt walked off the job. The workers — whose jobs have become more critical during coronavirus quarantines and stay-at-home orders — called for more personal protective equipment, professional cleaning services and hazard pay from their employers.

    The protests didn’t include all company employees and were comparatively small, however media and social media coverage exponentially increased the impact. Other professions such as healthcare and transit workers lent their support.   

    The hostility to labor in favor of business by the Trump administration and the GOP in general is widely-recognized. Now, coupled with the plight of frontline workers across industries, ranging from career professionals to lower-wage workers exposed to, sick and dying of COVID-19, and others who are struggling due to business closures, the situation has reached a boiling point. 

    The decline in the status and power of the American worker didn’t begin with Trump, but it’s surely been exacerbated. The Department of Labor is the agency that is supposed to look out for the worker, yet evidence makes it abundantly clear that its current mission does anything but that as staff and boards are changed or disbanded, regulations are slashed, anti-labor rulings and executive orders chip away at any protections they might offer. 

    The Secretary of Labor position – a revolving door since the inauguration, is now headed by Eugene Scalia (yes, his daddy was a SCOTUS judge)  since September 2019. As an attorney, Scalia handled many cases for businesses against employees and others, and repeatedly criticized for siding with large corporate interests against the working people. What a surprise. 

    The National Labor Relations Board (N.L.R.B.) has five members who are nominated by the president to serve staggered five-year terms. Trump’s N.L.R.B. has hamstrung union activism, with rulings favoring business and undermining vulnerable employees. See its rulings on McDonalds, Uber and graduate student employees. This long slide in the power of the worker gathered steam since the 80’s, when President Reagan notoriously declared the air traffic controller action illegal and fired more than 11,000 striking workers, hiring replacements. One of the Reagan administration’s lawyers in the case was Peter B. Robb, now general counsel of the N.L.R.B.

    It’s been said as unions go, so goes inequality. The division of income among Americans has increasingly tilted to the richest 10 percent, and away from everyone else, as union membership has ebbed. (see Just the Facts: Unions in this issue). In a few cases, companies have actually stepped up and done right by their employees, Patagonia comes to mind, but in general, businesses hold most if not all the cards outspending unions in political contributions by 16 to one during the 2016 election.  

    Further, five panels that were created by law to advise the labor secretary on how to improve health, safety and whistleblower protections in nearly every facet of the workforce have been outright killed or mothballed. Set up under OSHA – the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, these committees include: 

    • Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health Last meeting: June 20, 2017
        • Role: Has provided expertise on every OSHA standard in the construction industry for decades and must be consulted before the Department of Labor finalizes any construction industry-related rule-making, from ergonomic guidelines to work with hexavalent chromium.
        • Pending issues: Preventing trucks from backing up and killing workers, a common cause of death at construction sites, and new telecommunication tower standards, prompted by workers falling to their deaths while working on the towers.
    • National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health – Last meeting: Nov. 15, 2016.
      • Role: Advises on issues from reducing illness and injury in poultry line assembly to blood-borne pathogens, working closely with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. 
      • Pending issues: Regulations to protect temporary workers and emergency responders
    • Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health – Last meeting: Sept. 8, 2016
      • Role: Developed federal training guidelines, adopted by OSHA, for workers’ health and safety, and helped to ensure that federal contractors work with unions on developing safe environments for such work as refueling nuclear submarines.
      • Pending issues: Recommendations to prevent workers at federal sites in Florida from Zika exposure.
    • Maritime Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health – Last meeting: Aug. 10, 2016
      • Role: Provides advice and technical expertise on health and safety issues in shipyards, the longshore industry and commercial fishing vessels. Since the committee was created, fewer maritime workers have died annually of asphyxiation or drowning.
      • Pending issues: Implementation of a new, more aggressive beryllium standard that will take effect in May. Also, guidelines to prevent lead and other toxic exposure during welding.
    • Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee – Last meeting: April 26, 2016
      • Role: Developed a first-of-its kind guideline for how employers in 22 industries should address whistleblower issues and created a forum at its meetings for the public to bring up issues they felt had been unfairly dealt with.
      • Pending issues: Whistleblower protection issues within the railroad industry, improving the relationship between OSHA’s health and safety programs and its whistleblower protection programs.

    Additional Resources: 

    U.S. Department of Labor 

    U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions – Legislation

    U.S. House Committee on Labor and Education – Bill Status and Tracking

    Congressional Record

     

    Sources
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/05/01/amazon-instacart-workers-strike/
    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/19/magazine/labor-law-unions.html
    https://www.propublica.org/article/trumps-labor-department-eviscerates-workplace-safety-panels

  • ACTION! Senators Release Proposals Supporting Frontline Workers

    Contributed by Deb Kline.

    Three proposals focusing on Frontline Workers have been unveiled by both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate for consideration in the fourth coronavirus relief package

    Three different proposals have been released by members of the U.S. Senate intended to support the frontline workers to varying degrees. The goal is to include more focused provisions to protect and reward these workers, and to stimulate interest in filling these much needed jobs. Ideally, some form of these proposals will be included in the fourth coronavirus relief package, and you can help by calling Congress and demanding their support. Don’t forget your state government, which in many cases has done more to protect its people than the federal government.

    Essential Workers Bill of Rights 

    In April, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ro Khanna’s unveiled an “Essential Workers Bill of Rights,” which has been cheered by leading progressive organizations – including Indivisible and MoveOn – who are demanding the next coronavirus relief package take care of those on the frontlines of the pandemic.

    COVID-19 Hero’s Fund

    Also in April, Senate Democrats Charles Schumer (NY), Gary Peters (MI), Sherrod Brown (OH), Patty Murray (WA), Robert Casey (PA), and Tom Udall (NM) revealed the COVID-19 Hero’s Fund — a federal fund offering payments of up to $25,000, or $13 an hour and retroactive compensation for qualifying workers dating back to late January, when the public health emergency was first declared. Their plan also proposes a one-time payment of $15,000 to draw new workers into essential fields.

    • Uses a flat-dollar amount per hour premium model in order to ensure it is clear, simple, and lifts up particularly those workers making lower wages.
    • Would give each essential frontline worker $13/hour premium pay on top of regular wages for all hours worked in essential industries through the end of 2020.
    • Would cap the total maximum premium pay at $25,000 for each essential frontline worker earning less than $200,000 per year and $5,000 for each essential worker earning $200,000 or more per year.

    Patriot Pay

    Then on May 1, Utah Senator Mitt Romney released his Patriot Pay proposal aimed at providing bonus pay — up to $12 an hour on top of normal wages — for employees in eligible jobs. The increase would extend through May, June and July and would be paid out by employers and the federal government via a payroll tax credit. Workers in industries designated by Congress and the Department of Labor as essential, including hospitals, grocery stores and health manufacturing, could qualify for the hazard pay. 

    • For essential employees that make less than $50,000 annualized, employers would receive a 75% refundable payroll tax credit for a bonus up to $12 an hour.
    • For essential employees making over $50,000 annualized, the tax credit phases out by $24 for every additional $500 in income until annualized incomes hit $90,000.
    • The maximum tax credit is $1,440 per month, per employee, meaning a full-time worker would receive up to a $1,920 monthly bonus.

    Unlike the Democratic proposal however, Romney’s plan opts to offer employers a refundable payroll tax credit for paying out the bonuses to eligible employees. The plan states that employers would be refunded for up to three-quarters of hazard pay bonuses to employees making less than $90,000 a year. 

     

    • ACTION! Call your U.S. Senators and tell them to support the Essential Workers’ Bill of Rights and COVID-19 Hero’s Fund in the next coronavirus relief package. Find their contact information here.

     

    ACTION! Sign Indivisible.org’s The People’s Agenda Pledge to make sure your Representative opposes any coronavirus relief bill that does not 1) Keep people on payrolls; 2) Provide aid to the most vulnerable, including cash, food, debt relief and eviction protection; 3) Provide full healthcare coverage for all frontline workers, and 4) Enact a vote-by-mail requirement for all federal elections. Find all the tools you need plus at Indivisible.org The People’s Agenda