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Huu-ay-aht Leads the Way by Adopting Living Wage Policy
Huu-ay-aht will become the first First Nations community in Canada to adopt a living wage policy for all of its employees.
Out of respect of all Huu-ay-aht employees, executive council voted in favour of implementing a living wage policy on Friday, October 24. This will require that some adjustments of the minimum wage amounts in the existing wage and salary structure for employees. The decision was made based on the belief that B.C.'s current minimum wage is not high enough to meet the needs of families to promote health and wellbeing.
Port Alberni, BC
Huu-ay-aht will become the first First Nations community in Canada to adopt a living wage policy for all of its employees.
Out of respect of all Huu-ay-aht employees, executive council voted in favour of implementing a living wage policy on Friday, October 24. This will require that some adjustments of the minimum wage amounts in the existing wage and salary structure for employees. The decision was made based on the belief that B.C.'s current minimum wage is not high enough to meet the needs of families to promote health and wellbeing.
Huu-ay-aht believes people should not have to decide between paying rent and feeding their family, and with today's high cost of living, this is a reality many people face. According to the Living Wage for Families Campaign, in 2013, 1.8 million employed people in Canada do not make enough to pull themselves above the poverty level. Many are forced to rely on food banks in order to get by.
British Columbia has the second highest child poverty rate in Canada, and low wages are a key contributor. The 2013 Child Poverty Report Card found that 32% of poor children, more than 44,500 in BC, live in families with at least one adult working full time.
Huu-ay-aht believes that work should lift families out of poverty not keep them there.
"Too many of our people are living on minimum wage or below the poverty line," explained Elected Chief Councillor Jeff Cook. "It is our hope that this will offer our employees choices other than to just survive and live pay cheque to pay cheque."
In 2010, New Westminster became the first municipality to adopt a living wage policy. Currently, according to Living Wage Canada, 15 municipalities have calculated what their living wage would be. The range of wages is between $14.60 (Cranbrook) and $20.10 (Vancouver).
The living wage that has been calculated for Port Alberni is $17.22 per hour, or $33,579 annually. Using the Canadian Living Wage Framework as its guide, Huu-ay-aht has agreed to adopt this as their minimum wage. By doing so, it becomes the second community in BC to adopt a living wage policy for its employees.
"The Treaty has given us the ability to make decisions based on our values and goals, and implement those decisions in accordance with our own laws. The living wage policy shows how the Treaty gives us the ability to chart our own future," said Councillor Tom Mexsis Happynook. "We have a long way to go to meet or exceed the living standards of Canadians, but this is a great step in the right direction."
A living wage is different from minimum wage in that it takes into account the amount a family needs to cover basic expenses. These are the barebones costs with no extras, but it is calculated as a total compensation, including wage and benefits. Where the minimum wage focuses on the needs of a lone individual, the living wage focuses on the needs of families and includes medical and health needs, food security, transportation, and skills development.
Huu-ay-aht wants more for its employees and its citizens. Part of the Huu-ay-aht Strategic Plan is to become an 'Employer of Choice' in the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District. In order to foster a dedicated, skilled and healthy workforce, Huu-ay-aht First Nations believes it must pay a living wage to all of its employees. By doing so, they are making a significant investment in the future and building long-term prosperity for the economy.
As a leader among First Nations, the Huu-ay-aht will create certainty for its people and generate wealth for financial independence by providing economic opportunities, social, cultural and recreational programs for all Huu-ay-aht.
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Top EU Diplomat Warns Israeli Impunity Will Lead to West Bank Becoming 'a New Gaza'
"Against this backdrop, it is clear that the prospect of a two-state solution—which we have been ritually repeating—is receding ever further while the international community deplores, feels, and condemns, but finds it hard to act."
Sep 10, 2024
European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday urged the international community to stop "radical members of the Israeli government" from thwarting Palestinian statehood and prevent Israel from turning the illegally occupied West Bank into "a new Gaza."
Speaking to attendees of an Arab League conference in Cairo, Borrell lamented that a Gaza cease-fire agreement "has still not been signed and does not seem likely to be signed in the near future."
"Why? Quite simply, because those who are waging the war have no interest in putting an end to it," he continued. "So, they are just pretending... Because, as it turns out, their intransigence is accompanied by total impunity."
"If acts have no consequences, if blatant violation of international law remains disregarded, if institutions such as the International Criminal Court are threatened, if the International Court of Justice rulings are totally ignored by those who promote a rules-based order, who can be trusted?" Borrell asked.
"Not only is there no pause in the war in Gaza," he noted. "But what looms on the horizon is the extension of the conflict to the West Bank, where radical members of the Israeli government—Netanyahu's government—try to make it impossible to create a future Palestinian state."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his far-right government have openly
boasted about their efforts to derail the so-called "two-state solution," and Israeli lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in July to oppose the creation of a Palestinian state.
Borrell asserted that "a new front is being opened with a clear objective: to turn the West Bank into a new Gaza—in rising violence, delegitimizing the Palestinian Authority, stimulating provocations to react forcefully, and not shying away from saying to the face of the world that the only way to reach a peaceful settlement is to annex the West Bank and Gaza."
Since last October, Israeli soldiers and settler-colonists have killed more than 600 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, including more than 140 children. Settlers have carried out more than 1,000 attacks including multiple deadly pogroms, during which Israel Defense Forces soldiers stood by, protected, and even joined the attackers.
"Without action, the West Bank will become a new Gaza," Borrell stressed. "And Gaza will become a new West Bank, as settlers' movements are preparing new settlements."
"Against this backdrop, it is clear that the prospect of a two-state solution—which we have been ritually repeating—is receding ever further while the international community deplores, feels, and condemns, but finds it hard to act," Borrell added.
"What can we do?" he asked, continuing:
We need to raise our voice at the next [United Nations General Assembly] and prevent a sort of "Gaza fatigue," which will embolden the extremists and postpone once again the idea of a political settlement. We have to launch a process where all parties who want to work on an agenda—a concrete and practical agenda to implement the two-state solution—can work together.
Second, we need to revitalize the Palestinian Authority to support their reform process, but also to support [them] financially.
Third, [we have] to facilitate all attempts at dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis.
Fourth, [we must] not give up on engaging with Israeli civil society, even in this context—and especially in this context. Everyone, not just the Europeans—Palestinians, and Arab civil society, must do it. I know how difficult it is to reconcile both narratives, but it is the only way to move forward...
Fifth, the Palestinians have to reach a common vision, to overcome their divisions, because the more these divisions exist, the more they undermine the legitimacy and representativeness of the Palestinians.
Sixth, the Europeans need to adopt a common approach. That is what I am working tirelessly on, even if the success is limited, because I have never seen such a dividing issue among the Europeans as the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Seventh, the Arab States need also to adopt a truly common approach [to] coordinating and showing solidarity.
"All in all, it means building a balance of power on realistic foundations for the two-state solution—before it becomes, definitely, too late," Borrell concluded. "I know, it is extremely difficult. However, we must never give up."
Last month, Borrell called for sanctioning Israeli leaders for hate speech and inciting war crimes in Gaza and the illegally occupied West Bank. He has also called for an arms embargo on Israel.
Israel is currently on trial for genocide at the International Court of Justice. Meanwhile, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is seeking to arrest Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders—at least one of whom has been assassinated—for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Since October 7, when the Hamas-led attack on Israel left more than 1,100 people dead—some of them killed by so-called "
friendly fire"—and over 240 others kidnapped, Israeli forces have killed at least 40,988 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children. At least 94,825 other Palestinians have been wounded. Almost all of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been forcibly displaced, while Israel's "complete siege" has starved and sickened people across the enclave, with dozens dying of malnutrition.
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Harris Urged to Back $17 Minimum Wage During Debate With Trump
"This would make a major difference for the affordability crisis so many face," said Rep. Ro Khanna.
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Congressman Ro Khanna expressed hope on Tuesday that Vice President Kamala Harris' pledge to "fight to raise the minimum wage" on her newly released list of policy proposals would not be her last word on the matter, and urged her to speak out more specifically by backing a $17 minimum wage at the first presidential debate between her and Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Khanna (D-Calif.) said the Democratic nominee must send a clear message to many "voters who are living paycheck to paycheck in swing states," by showing that she is committed to improving their day-to-day lives with concrete economic policies.
Attaching a dollar amount to her promise to raise the minimum wage would show voters that she aims to "make a major difference for the affordability crisis so many face," said Khanna.
Several battleground states, including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and North Carolina, have minimum wages that match the federal minimum pay—$7.25 per hour—which hasn't been updated in 15 years.
Harris backed a $15 federal minimum wage when she ran for president in 2020, eight years after fast food workers launched the Fight for $15 national campaign.
But last year, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) proposed raising the federal floor for wages to $17 per hour within five years, with Sanders saying, "A job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it."
According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Living Wage Calculator, even people in states with relatively low costs of living would need to earn significantly more than $15 per hour to enjoy a decent standard of living.
In both Mississippi and Alabama, for example, one adult with no children would need to earn more than $19 per hour to make a living wage. Two working adults raising one child would need to make $17.89 each, but they would need to make more than $21 each per hour if they had a second child.
"Raising our federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $17 is not radical," said Liz Shuler, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), last year.
At HuffPost on Tuesday, Dave Jamieson noted that providing specifics about her plans to raise the wage floor would further clarify for swing state voters how Harris differs from her GOP opponent on this issue, as Trump has "never had a coherent vision for the minimum wage" and "has contradicted himself so often on the issue that The Washington Post's fact-checking operation once created a 'guide to all of Donald Trump's flip-flops on the minimum wage.'"
While campaigning for president in 2016, Trump said at various points that he did not support any federal minimum wage, that raising it would be a "big, big problem," and that that he was "looking at" raising it.
One Fair Wage (OFW), which has campaigned on ending the subminimum wage of just $2.13 for tipped workers, applauded Harris for her support for that policy, saying it offers a clear contrast to Trump and could appeal to 14 million service workers, including millions in swing states, who could sway the election.
"While both campaigns have called for the elimination of taxes on tips, this policy alone would only benefit about one-third of tipped workers," said the group. "Most workers wouldn't see any real relief, as their earnings are too low for them to benefit from a tax cut. That's why the Harris-Walz campaign's commitment to ending the subminimum wage stands out—it acknowledges that eliminating taxes on tips is not enough, and that workers need a true wage increase by ending the $2.13/hr subminimum wage for tipped workers, allowing them to earn a full minimum wage with tips on top."
"By taking this bold stance, the Harris-Walz campaign is aligning itself with a growing movement of workers and advocates fighting to create an economy where everyone can thrive," said OFW.
Saru Jayaraman, president of the organization, added that the policy would "lift millions of people out of poverty, close racial and gender pay gaps, and provide a foundation for economic security that all working people deserve."
"Raising wages resonates with millions of Americans who have been left behind by the current system, and the Harris-Walz campaign's commitment to this issue will not only energize voters but set the stage for a fairer, more equitable economy," she added.
Last week, Sanders toldRolling Stone that in the last eight weeks of the campaign, he hopes Harris will "expose Trump for the fraud that he is" and "develop an agenda for working-class people and trade unionists that will be very much in contrast with Trump."
"Raising the minimum wage to a living wage," said Sanders, "will improve wages for many millions of lower-income Americans."
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House Republicans plowed ahead Tuesday with a short-term government funding package that one leading Democratic lawmaker denounced as "a ploy to force the extreme Project 2025 manifesto agenda on the American people."
The GOP's stopgap continuing resolution, to which House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) attached a widely condemned voter suppression bill, would mostly fund the federal government at current levels for six months beyond the looming shutdown date of September 30, putting off the spending fight until after the 2024 elections.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said Monday that instead of negotiating a bipartisan solution to the impasse over government funding, House Republicans "squandered an entire year by taking us down a partisan path and forcing us to waste time considering extreme funding bills based on [Republican presidential nominee Donald] Trump's Project 2025 they could not pass and that have no chance of becoming law."
DeLauro warned that instead of approving bipartisan government funding legislation ahead of the November elections, much of the House Republican caucus wants to delay negotiations until early next year, believing such a strategy "provides them with more leverage to force their unpopular cuts to services that American families depend on to make ends meet."
"They want to slash domestic investments in healthcare, education, job training, and every other discretionary program, which will hurt the middle class and the economy," said DeLauro. "This bill is an admission that a House Republican majority cannot govern. They would rather gamble on an intervening election than attempt to complete their work on time."
"Extreme MAGA Republicans have decided to abandon their commitment to the American people in order to enact Trump's Project 2025 agenda."
The GOP's legislative package narrowly cleared a procedural hurdle on Tuesday and is set for a final vote on Wednesday, but the legislation is likely doomed to fail amid united opposition from congressional Democrats and the White House and fractures in the Republican caucus.
As The New York Timesreported Tuesday, "Democrats and many Republicans prefer a shorter-term spending bill that would last into early December, allowing time to resolve their fiscal differences but leaving it to Mr. Biden and the current Congress—rather than the next president and Congress—to set funding levels for 2025 and beyond."
A detailed analysis released last week by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that budget proposals released by House Republicans combined with the far-right policy changes outlined under the Project 2025 agenda—including steep cuts to critical social programs—would "create a harsher country with higher poverty and less opportunity."
In a letter to his caucus on Monday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) wrote that "despite the existence of a previously agreed upon spending framework, extreme MAGA Republicans have decided to abandon their commitment to the American people in order to enact Trump's Project 2025 agenda."
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