Still Struggling to Make Ends Meet 2022: A report on living wages in Washington State

Over the last two years, the Covid-19 pandemic has triggered many changes in American life, but workers in Washington State and across the country continue to face difficulties making ends meet. Hazard pay premiums for essential workers have temporarily boosted worker pay, but inflation through February 2022 was at its highest rate since 1982, erasingContinue reading “Still Struggling to Make Ends Meet 2022: A report on living wages in Washington State”

“Patchwork of Paychecks” Not Enough Jobs to Go Around

For Immediate Release Dec. 8, 2015 Contact: Kathy Mulady Communications director kathy@allianceforajustsociety.org (206) 992-8787 Patchwork of Paychecks Only half of all job openings pay $15 an hour or more It’s easy to tell a low-wage worker to “go get a better-paying job,” but the reality is there are nowhere near enough jobs that pay aContinue reading ““Patchwork of Paychecks” Not Enough Jobs to Go Around”

Collective Bargaining is a Valuable Tool for Workers to Make Ends Meet

Working full-time should allow workers to make ends meet; instead, many workers across the country continue to be paid wages that leave them living paycheck-to-paycheck. As we’ve shown in our Job Gap Economic Prosperity Series since 1999, a living wage is well above the minimum wage that too many workers are paid. Our recent report,Continue reading “Collective Bargaining is a Valuable Tool for Workers to Make Ends Meet”

Building Momentum to “Ban the Box” Nationwide

Last week, Oregon’s Gov. Kate Brown signed into law a bill that prohibits questions about prior convictions on initial applications for employment. This makes Oregon the seventh state in the country to “ban the box” on private employment applications, giving people with records the chance to get to an interview and a fairer shot atContinue reading “Building Momentum to “Ban the Box” Nationwide”

More Low Paying Jobs Means Families Continue to Struggle

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released the Employment Situation Summary, commonly known as the “jobs report,” for May. While many news outlets had headlines lauding May’s jobs numbers, at least some are beginning to come around to a fact that we have been stating for months: too many of these new jobs are inContinue reading “More Low Paying Jobs Means Families Continue to Struggle”

Working Families Need Good Jobs – Not Just Any Job

Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its January jobs report, showing that 257,000 jobs were added last month. Increasing jobs is great news, but only if those jobs allow workers and their families to make ends meet. The numbers have been praised, especially the average hourly wages that “soared 12 cents” to $24.75. While wages didContinue reading “Working Families Need Good Jobs – Not Just Any Job”

Graduates Struggle Under a Mountain of Debt

College is supposed to be the pathway to a better job and a better life, but for students across the country college is also the pathway to a life of debt. Since 2008, states across the country have decreased their investment in higher education, with every state except for Alaska and North Dakota providing lessContinue reading “Graduates Struggle Under a Mountain of Debt”

Fair Wages Aren’t Enough, Workers Need Hours, Predictability, too

There’s no question that working families across the country are struggling to get by; wages for most income levels have been stagnant or declining over the past decade, while the cost of living has continued to increase. One key to helping working families is increasing wages so that there are more living wage jobs available.Continue reading “Fair Wages Aren’t Enough, Workers Need Hours, Predictability, too”

Everyone Benefits When Workers Earn Living Wages

The South Korea government is taking an interesting approach to stagnating wages. The South Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance is pushing a policy to offer tax credits to those firms that increase worker pay. This legislation — which, if approved by the South Korean parliament, would go into effect in January — creates a policy incentive forContinue reading “Everyone Benefits When Workers Earn Living Wages”

Legislators Who Block Medicaid Expansion Are Stiffing Veterans Out of Health Care

** This article by LeeAnn Hall  first appeared in Huffington Post ** The scandal over long wait times for veterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs health system has grabbed a lot of headlines and elicited a lot of righteous anger – as it should. America’s veterans deserve so much better. But as Ezra KleinContinue reading “Legislators Who Block Medicaid Expansion Are Stiffing Veterans Out of Health Care”