Oregon rally demands $15 wage

Roger and All Who Struggle for Human Dignity,

"Go, go, go Oregonians!"
At 16 years of age, I hired on with a company dealing in TV antennas.
The year was 1951 and rooftops all around Seattle were beginning to
sprout those strange metal wracks. I was paid wage minimum. 75 cents
per hour. Since that time the minimum wage has been raised many
times. And each time the howl goes up by the business community,
"We're going to be put out of business!"
So what's happened to that dire prediction?
But even as the minimum wage has been raised again and again, the poor
keep getting poorer. That 75 cents an hour came to 30 dollars per
week, and $1,560 per year. Thirty dollars a week doesn't appear to be
much in today's marketplace, but you could rent a small apartment for
$20 or $25 a month. A family of four could easily eat on $60 per
month. If you are too young to remember, just check it out. $15 per
hour is not going to derail Capitalism. In the short term it will
help many poor and struggling folk. But in the long run the cost of
living will continue climbing and eat up the short term gains.
By the way, $15 per hour comes to $600 for a 40 hour week. Try
renting an apartment in Seattle or Portland for $600 per month.
But it's a start. But only a start. We need to begin educating the
Working Class to use their collective power to change the "Bottom
Line" from Profit to People First.
Another thing to muddy up the waters, is the fact that America has
only about 5% of the world's population. Raising our minimum wage
must be accompanied by planning to raise the living standard around
the globe. If we once again push through a higher minimum wage, but
fail to follow through, we can be assured that in due time we will
again be shopping for dinner in the local restaurant trash cans.
And by the way, shame on our president for not backing a meaningful
minimum wage.
Doesn't he understand the meaning of the word, Leader?

Carl Jarvis


On 2/27/15, Roger Loran Bailey <rogerbailey81@aol.com> wrote:
> http://socialistaction.org/oregon-rally-demands-15-wage/
>
>
> Oregon rally demands $15 wage
>
> Published February 26, 2015. | By Socialist Action.
> Feb. 2015 $15 Oregon
>
> By ANN MONTAGUE
>
> SALEM, Ore.—Hundreds of Oregonians came to Salem on Jan. 24 to rally and
> march and demand a statewide $15 minimum wage. Organized by labor and
> community groups, the event not only showcased how the movement has
> expanded outside of Portland to the rest of the state but also the
> growing passion to end poverty wages. Buses came from Portland and vans
> arrived from southern Oregon.
>
> While most unions in Oregon endorsed the march, the Oregon School
> Employee Association (OSEA) and Pineros y Campesinos Unidos Del Noroeste
> (PCUN) turned out the most rank and file. The WalMart strikers from
> Klamath Falls who are currently being harassed on the job also spoke at
> the rally.
>
> The first speaker was Tom Chamberlain, president of the Oregon AFL-CIO,
> and he clearly was inspired by the crowd to give an uncharacteristic
> red-meat speech. He called out the labor commissioner for promoting the
> bill for $12 and not $15 and railed on the Democratic governor and his
> leader of the House and Senate, all of whom have opposed raising the
> minimum wage.
>
> But the rally was really to support low-wage workers like the food
> service worker at the Portland Zoo, the school bus driver, and the home
> care worker who spoke to the rally about the dignity of her work and
> ended by saying, "$13 is not a living wage, $14 is not a living wage,
> $15 comes close, but we are worth more."
>
> After the rally, people took to the streets for a short march. About 150
> marchers stayed for a meeting, with breakouts by geographic region to
> plan next steps in their area.
>
> At the same time, more studies are being released and discussed in the
> press about the effects that a $15 minimum wage would have on Oregon
> communities. The University of Oregon Labor Education And Research
> Center just released its 2014 Oregon Workforce Report, entitled, "The
> High Cost Of Low Wages In Oregon." It states that over 400,000
> Oregonians are employed in low-wage work.
>
> The part of the report that is getting the most media exposure reveals
> that the state pays $1.75 billion a year in safety net assistance to
> these low-wage workers and their families, in effect subsidizing
> employers. Also, Lake Research Partners conducted a poll of likely
> Oregon voters and found that 54% support increasing the current minimum
> wage of $9.25 an hour to $15 an hour and adjusting for inflation annually.
>
> The major argument that the governor and other Democrats use to oppose
> raising the minimum wage to $15 is what they call the "Benefit Cliff."
> They claim the higher wage will mean workers will lose public benefits,
> and therefore, raising wages would only hurt workers.
>
> The head of the Oregon Center For Public Policy (OCPP) came out with a
> blistering attack on this policy, pointing out that a $15 increase would
> mean real gains for workers. "Over half a million workers will see
> bigger paychecks—extra money that will help their families get ahead."
> He also tore apart the cry that workers would lose child-care subsidies,
> stating that the program is so under-funded now that hardly any workers
> receive the benefit. He called for raising the minimum wage to $15 and
> increasing funding to the child-care assistance program.
>
> The goals of the statewide action were to bring together 15 Now chapters
> to plan the next steps of the campaign, raise the visibility of the
> movement , and bring in new layers of activists. Soon after the rally,
> 15 Now received the endorsements of the United Steelworkers of Oregon
> and USW local 8378, as well as the Lane County Central Labor Council
> (Eugene/Springfield) and the University of Oregon Student Labor Action
> Project (SLAP).
>
> In Portland, 15 Now was invited to do a workshop for the upcoming
> Community Summit of several hundred community activists and Neighborhood
> Association members.
>
>
>
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> Posted in Labor. | Tagged $15, 15 Now, labor, minimum wage, Oregon.
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