Wage Standards

The Arizona Interfaith Alliance for Worker Justice, a worker center in Phoenix, has seen a “huge spike” in wage theft -- violations of minimum wage laws -- since the passage of SB 1070, Arizona’s anti-immigrant law.  "Employers are even more brazen in their mistreatment of workers," said Executive Director Trina Zelle in an interview with In These Times.  "Increasingly, 'Go ahead, try and make me pay you' is the response workers hear when they confront their employers over unpaid wages."

For the first time in the nation, Wal-Mart has agreed to a higher wage standard at a new store to be built in Chicago, Illinois.  The retail giant’s commitment was part of an agreement to assure City Council support for zoning approvals, on which the Council voted Wednesday.  The deal also concludes a six-year fight over what will be only Wal-Mart’s second store in the Windy City.  As we reported previously, Wal-Mart reached a stalemate with labor unions in 2006, after the City Council passed an industry-specific wage standard for big box retailers, which was later vetoed by Mayor Richard M. Daley.

On June 1, the New York Senate put the state in position to be first in the nation to enact a Domestic Workers' Rights law (S2311) by a vote of 33-28.  The New York Assembly led the way in June 2009 when it passed its own version of the bill (A1470).  This groundbreaking legislation will extend core labor rights, from fair labor standards to paid sick days, to creating a framework for collective bargaining, to domestic workers.  This will include those employed to work in a private home to perform housekeeping and/or to care for children, the infirm, or the elderly.

Refuting right-wing attacks on state workers, a new report by the National Institute for Retirement Security (NIRS) and the Council on State and Local Government Excellence (CSGE), Out of Balance? Comparing Public and Private Sector Compensation Over 20 Years, demonstrates that state and local employees earn an average of 11 and 12 percent less, respectively, than comparable private sector workers.

Washington state Governor Christine Gregoire signed a bill to combat wage theft this week, adding Washington to a growing number of states and counties, including Miami-Dade County, cracking down on employers who underpay workers (many of them undocumented immigrants) and violate minimum wage and overtime rules. 

As part of the Progressive States Network’s 2010 Shared Multi-State Agenda, we are advancing a corporate transparency initiative in coordination with key allies and experts.  Demand for transparency in government is rising, but most states still do not collect even the most basic, critical data from recipients of state grants, state contracts or tax breaks.  In this Dispatch, we will examine the need for corporate transparency, recent cases relating to the subject, and how the policy will benefit states dealing with massive deficits.

In this Dispatch, we emphasize that any stimulus spending has to be tied to increased accountability and transparency in spending decisions, especially by government contractors who often operate like a shadow government with little oversight.  One key reality is that those most in need often don't receive help from government spending without transparency and accountability measures built into the rules.  While the recent federal recovery plan made real strides in expanding such accountability, additional measures are still needed if the recovery plan is going to deliver real equity in our economic recovery.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson recently signed a wage enforcement bill (H 489) to allow underpaid workers to collect their back wages plus twice that amount in damages. The bill was backed by community groups and labor unions as well as the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions.  New Mexico now becomes the eighth state that allows workers to collect treble damages against employers violating the minimum wage – a key deterrent to employers to ensure compliance with the minimum wage. 

Given the central role of private contractors in delivering public services, this Dispatch continues our series of Privatization Updates (see November's edition). Today we focus on current privatization debates in the education, prison and mental health sectors -- and what states are doing to increase accountability for contractors.

Recently conservatives in Montana sought to roll back the annual cost-of-living wage increases for minimum wage workers that voters overwhelmingly approved in 2006 by 73-27%. Montana is one of twenty-seven states (plus the District of Columbia) that has a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage, and one of eleven states that index the minimum wage to the consumer price index. Montana progressives successfully fought a conservative push by the restaurant industry to keep wages stagnant.