Monday, October 14, 2013

Living Wage Ordinance Gains Momentum

On Labor Day, Milwaukee County Supervisor David Bowen announced that he would introduce a resolution which would mandate that any agency or company contracting with Milwaukee County would have to  pay its workers a living wage.

Since then, we have seen how other communities with a much higher minimum wage are not only not failing, but are thriving with the higher pay, proving the right wing talking points to be again a bunch of malarkey.

The movement is growing with such momentum that even the local corporate media had to take notice of it:
"Private corporations are making record profits," said Martha De La Rosa of the Center for Progressive Leadership, a nonprofit in Milwaukee.

The law would apply to companies with service contracts for food, security, janitorial services, home healthcare, and concessions and other jobs at Mitchell International Airport. It also would apply to companies getting tax breaks from the county, De La Rosa said.

"Adding more living wage jobs will help all Milwaukee," said Mike Bink of the United Auto Workers union, whose members aren't directly affected by the legislation. "Taxpayers shouldn't be forced to subsidize profits for wealthy companies while they pay workers low wages, and then have to pay to support government programs that provide services to the workers."

The groups came together three to four months ago and have collected more than 10,000 signatures on petitions from county residents supporting the proposal.

At the rally, chants of "It's not right!" and "We're worth more!" interrupted impassioned speeches describing the hardships of low-paid workers and how higher wages would help boost the local economy.
Milwaukee County Emperor Chris Abele, who has a lengthy record of being anti-worker, has not come down from his ivory tower to let the little people know what they should feel about this proposal.

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