By Allyson Fredericksen
December 2015
Table: Living Wages, Job Openings, and Job Seekers by State (pdf)
“Patchwork of Paychecks” Fact Sheet
Nationally, four of the top five fastest growing occupations pay less than $15 an hour. They are: retail salespersons; waiters and waitresses; cashiers; and food preparation and serving workers, including fast food.
- Nationally, for jobs that pay at least $15 per hour, there are seven job seekers for every job opening.
- The occupation category with the most projected job openings, retail salesperson, pays a median wage of $10.29 per hour.
- Nationwide, there are more than 17.7 million job seekers. There are 5 million job openings total, paying any wage. Of those, 2.7 million pay at least $15 an hour.
- In 34 states, less than half of all job openings pay enough for a single adult to make ends meet.
- In California, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and South Carolina there are 10 job seekers for every living wage job opening.
Debtors’ Prisons Redux
Debtors’ Prisons Redux: How Legal Loopholes Let Courts Across the Country Criminalize Poverty (pdf)
By Allyson Fredericksen and Linnea Lassiter
December 2015
Next Attack on Workers – Will Conservatives Champion “Free Riding” to Justify It?
Building power through strength in numbers. It’s one way regular people can overcome opposition from corporate and wealthy special interests to win concrete improvements in our everyday lives.
We may not be able to match opponents who can write seven-figure checks dollar for dollar, but by banding together, articulating collective demands, and negotiating with powerful interests (whether corporate CEOs or elected leaders) from a place of shared strength, we can build the leverage to win changes that benefit our families and communities.Continue reading “Next Attack on Workers – Will Conservatives Champion “Free Riding” to Justify It?”
Statement from LeeAnn Hall: “Closing the door to refugees is about hate and fear – not safety”
PRESS STATEMENT
Nov. 20, 2015
Contact: Kathy Mulady
Communications Director
kathy@allianceforajustsociety.org
(206) 992-8787
Statement from LeeAnn Hall, Executive Director of the Alliance for a Just Society:
Of all the nations worldwide, the United States, built on welcoming those fleeing persecution at home, should be first to offer a safe harbor to refugees in a time of need.
Instead, Thursday, House Republicans, joined by 47 Democrats, hastily passed a bill that effectively ends the current U.S. refugee program for people fleeing the brutal civil war in Syria – a war our government is actively involved in.Continue reading “Statement from LeeAnn Hall: “Closing the door to refugees is about hate and fear – not safety””
Stop racist rhetoric and legislation on refugees
The U.S. Congress should be ashamed. Today, House Republicans, joined by 47 Democrats, hastily passed a bill that would effectively end the current U.S. refugee program for refugees fleeing the brutal civil war in Syria — a war our government is actively involved in.
This week, following the tragic terror attacks in Paris, politicians in our country have flooded the airwaves and the internet with racist and alarmist rhetoric. At a time when we should be embracing all victims of violence, they are asking us be hateful.
Continue reading “Stop racist rhetoric and legislation on refugees”Racism on Campus is Nothing New. A Sustained Anti-Racist Campus Movement Would Be.
As a first-year student at Brown University I was detained for trespassing by campus security.
In my own dorm. In sock feet.
You see, I left my dorm room to go to the bathroom and didn’t bring my college ID along. I guess I should have known better. As a black student it was always an unstated expectation that I justify my presence on campus. Black students were a small minority on campus. And we were often seen as interlopers even after admission.Continue reading “Racism on Campus is Nothing New. A Sustained Anti-Racist Campus Movement Would Be.”
Racial Slurs Have No Place in Football
The leaves are changing. The scent of pumpkin spice lattes is in the air. In short, it’s football season. And like millions of my fellow Americans, I love football.
But I’m also American Indian.
So for me, football season also means hearing a racial slur all the time. It’s used by sports teams around the country — and by Washington, D.C.’s National Football League team in particular.
You may know that franchise as the Redskins. I refer to it as the R-word.Continue reading “Racial Slurs Have No Place in Football”
Payup New York! Livestream on Minimum Wage
How much does it take to make ends meet? Nationally, a single adult needs $16.87 an hour, and in New York they need $19.90 – just to meet basic needs and an occasional minor emergency. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 and New York’s minimum wage of $8.75 fall far short.
A minimum wage worker in New York would have to work 91 hours a week just to get by, and 93 hours a week nationally.
Continue reading “Payup New York! Livestream on Minimum Wage”Pay Up! Long Hours and Low Pay Leave Workers at a Loss
In recent years, a number of cities have raised their minimum wage to $15 an hour, which is significantly above federal and state minimum wages. These changes have prompted debate around the country regarding what constitutes an adequate minimum. This report contributes to that conversation by providing living wage figures, finding that current minimum wage rates are far too low to meet individuals’ and families’ needs.
By Allyson Fredericksen
How many hours does a minimum wage worker have to put in to make ends meet?