October, 06 2015, 10:45am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Anna Susman, Anna.Susman@berlinrosen.com, 646-200-5285 Jack Temple, jack.temple@berlinrosen.com, 646-200-5280
Following $15 Win For N.Y. Fast-Food Workers, Dozens of Cities Convene Wage Boards to Address Low-Pay Crisis
From Little Rock to Las Vegas, Underpaid Fast-Food, Child Care, Home Care and Retail Workers to Testify on Urgent Need to Raise Wages
NATIONWIDE
Workers in nearly 30 cities have announced they are convening the first-ever "people's Wage Boards" to examine how poverty wages are holding back neighborhoods and communities across the city. Fed up with low wages that result in evictions, unpaid bills, and having to depend on food stamps for dinner, underpaid workers and their community members will testify at panels patterned after the Wage Board in New York that resulted in the state raising pay for nearly 200,000 fast-food workers to $15 an hour.
Beginning on October 6 and continuing throughout the week, these workers will deliver personal testimony on why they need $15 an hour and the right to a union--and are willing to do whatever it takes to win.
Local leaders from state senators to academics to members of the clergy have volunteered to sit on the Wage Boards. In Raleigh, the Wage Board will be made up of state Rep. Yvonne Holley, the Rev. Curtis Gatewood, and a local business owner, Vimala Rajendran. In New Orleans, state Rep. Joseph Bouie Jr., former city councilman and WBOK radio host Oliver Thomas, Pastor Dwight Webster and Human Rights Attorney S. Mandisa Moore-O'Neal will sit on the panel. In Little Rock, three state Senators--Will Bond, Joe Woodson and Vivian Flowers--will sit on the panel to hear testimony from fast-food, child care, home care and retail workers.
In conjunction with the Wage Board in Pittsburgh, a local city council member has proposed the city establish a Wage Board committee that looks at the effect of increasing wages of low-income workers.
"I used to think that if I kept working hard at Wendy's and put in the hours, I'd eventually scrounge enough that the sight of my monthly electricity bill didn't cause me to panic," said Tara Blair, who makes $7.50 an hour at Wendy's and will be testifying in front of the Wage Board in Memphis. "But I know now it takes workers joining together--as they did in New York--who will actually make the difference. That's why I'll be standing up in front of the Wage Board to describe some of my most personal moments--like being kicked out of apartments because I can't pay rent. It's not easy for me to share these stories, but Memphis has to realize there are too many people living just like me, and we're not going to take it anymore."
Gov. Cuomo's announcement earlier this year to adopt the $15 recommendation set by the Wage Board followed weeks of public hearings at which workers testified of being paid so little that they are frequently forced to rely on public assistance to feed their families; of squeezing into crowded apartments, often with strangers; and of being unable to buy clothing or school supplies for their kids, or to take them to the movies.
"When New York fast-food workers won $15, underpaid workers all around the country won too," said Hilda Edmundson, who has been a home care worker for five years and will be testifying in front of the Wage Board in Raleigh. "Right then, we pledged to build off New York's victory to win $15 in every state for all workers. The launch of the people's Wage Boards proves we are unstoppable--we're going to turn $15 from a dream into a reality."
According to a recent report from the National Employment Law Project, wages have stagnated for America's workers across the board, but those in lower-paying jobs are being hit the hardest and low-wage occupations saw the biggest drop in real wages during the recovery. Among the 10-largest occupations in the bottom fifth, declines were most pronounced for occupations in the restaurant sector: food preparation workers and cooks saw wage declines of 7.7 percent and 8.9 percent. Janitors and cleaners, personal care aides, home health aides, and maids and housekeeping cleaners also experienced steep declines.
The people's Wage Board hearings come as consensus builds that $15 an hour is what American workers everywhere need to survive. In August, the Democratic Party adopted a $15 platform, and every major presidential candidate for the party's nomination has expressed support for the workers in the Fight for $15. Meanwhile, Democratic leaders from Nancy Pelosi to Kristen Gillibrand have called for a $15 federal minimum wage. And on a state level, politicians are turning out to recommend a raise to $15 to help lift up local economies and families.
"The workers' testimonies in New York revealed the insensitivity of politicians and society as a whole to make sure that people who work hard are able to take care of their families," said state Rep. Joseph Bouie Jr., who will sit on the Wage Board panel in New Orleans. "It's imperative that in New Orleans, we listen to the voices of our workers, too."
"Child care workers are raising the future and need $15 to afford the basics for their own families," said Toland Barnett, who has been a child care worker in Raleigh for 13 years. "We celebrated when fast-food workers won $15 in New York, and we're not going to stop until all workers win $15 and a union."
From coast to coast, workers are winning unprecedented raises. Earlier this summer, Los Angeles raised its minimum wage to $15 an hour, following similar moves in SeaTac, San Francisco and Seattle. Fifteen dollar proposals are pending in Washington, D.C., Portland, Maine, Olympia and Tacoma, Wash. and Sacramento and Davis, Calif. Home care workers in Massachusetts and Oregon won $15 and it is the minimum pay at leading companies like Facebook and Aetna. Noting how the Fight for $15 has changed the politics of the country, the New York Times declared that "$15 could become the new, de facto $7.25," and the Washington Post said $15 has "gone from almost absurdly ambitious to mainstream in the span of a few years."
Workers from the following cities will testify at Wage Boards:
AR Little Rock
AZ Phoenix
CO Denver
GA Atlanta
LA New Orleans
MI Detroit
MN Minneapolis
MO Kansas City
MO St Louis
NC Charlotte
NC Greensboro
NC Greenville
NC Raleigh Durham
NV Las Vegas
PA Philadelphia
PA Pittsburgh
SC Charleston
TN Memphis
TN Nashville
TN Knoxville
TX Houston
VA Richmond
WI Madison
WI Milwaukee
Fast food workers are coming together all over the country to fight for $15 an hour and the right to form a union without retaliation. We work for corporations that are making tremendous profits, but do not pay employees enough to support our families and to cover basic needs like food, health care, rent and transportation.
LATEST NEWS
Listen Live: US Supreme Court Hears Outrageous Argument That Trump Is Above the Law
"The American people deserve a Supreme Court that does not hesitate to declare that no one is above the law, including a former president," said one campaigner.
Apr 25, 2024
After months of delay, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday will hear oral arguments in a closely watched case on whether former President Donald Trump should be immune from criminal charges stemming from his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss—an argument that legal experts say is both absurd and dangerous.
Listen live to the oral arguments, which are set to begin at 10:00 am ET:
Thursday's proceedings mark the high court's final argument of its current term, and pro-democracy campaigners are calling on the justices to quickly reject the former president's sweeping immunity claim so he can face trial on federal election subversion charges before his November rematch with President Joe Biden.
As Bloomberg's Greg Stohr noted earlier this week, Thursday's oral arguments give "Special Counsel Jack Smith only a narrow window to put the former president in front of a Washington jury before voters go to the polls on November 5."
"With the trial on hold until the high court rules," Stohr added, "Smith needs a clear-cut victory, and he needs it quickly."
Sean Eldridge, founder and president of the progressive advocacy group Stand Up America, said in a statement Thursday that "the Supreme Court's right-wing majority has already handed Trump a temporary victory by stalling this case for months, allowing him to delay accountability for his criminal attempts to cling to power."
"With so much at stake for our democracy, the Supreme Court should rule swiftly and decisively in this case," said Eldridge. "Accountability delayed could mean accountability denied."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Grand Jury Indicts Top Trump Aides, 11 Arizona Republicans Over 'Fake Electors' Scheme
Had it succeeded, said the state's attorney general, the scheme would have "deprived Arizona's voters of their right to have their votes counted for their chosen president."
Apr 25, 2024
A grand jury in Arizona on Wednesday charged seven aides to Donald Trump and nearly a dozen Republican officials over a "fake electors" scheme in the state that aimed to keep the former president in power after his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden.
Trump, who is currently facing nearly 90 charges across four criminal cases as he runs for another White House term, was described as "unindicted co-conspirator 1" in the 58-page indictment, which was announced by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.
"The people of Arizona elected President Biden," Mayes, a Democrat, said Wednesday. "Unwilling to accept this fact, the defendants charged by the state grand jury allegedly schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency. Whatever their reasoning was, the plot to violate the law must be answered for."
The indictment names former Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward, sitting state Republican Sens. Jake Hoffman and Anthony Kern, former U.S. Senate candidate Jim Lamon, and seven others as the "fake electors" who sought to declare Trump the rightful winner of the state's presidential contest.
The names of other individuals indicted by the state grand jury are redacted, but the document's descriptions make clear that former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, and top Trump legal strategist Boris Epshteyn are among those facing felony charges—including fraud, forgery, and conspiracy.
"In Arizona, defendants, unindicted coconspirators, and others pressured the three groups of election officials responsible for certifying election results to encourage them to change the election results," the document reads. "Discussions about using the Republican electors to change the outcome of the election began as early as November 4, 2020. Those plans evolved during November based on memos drafted by [an attorney for the Trump campaign, Kenneth Chesebro]."
Mayes said Wednesday that had the fake elector scheme succeeded, it would have "deprived Arizona's voters of their right to have their votes counted for their chosen president."
"It effectively would have made their right to vote meaningless," said Mayes.
A state grand jury, made up of everyday, regular Arizonans, has handed down felony indictments in the ongoing investigation into the fake elector scheme in Arizona. pic.twitter.com/Nu8GcD4ZqJ
— AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) April 24, 2024
Alex Gulotta, state director of All Voting Is Local Action Arizona, said Wednesday that "the indictment of the eleven fake electors is one of the first steps required in holding these election deniers accountable for their alleged attempts to take power away from voters by disrupting our free and fair elections."
"Arizonans deserve to trust the election officials responsible for administering our elections and preserving our democracy," said Gulotta, "and this is a positive step forward as we continue to strengthen the foundations of our democracy and restore faith in our elections."
The Arizona Republicreported Wednesday that "several of the Arizona electors have previously claimed they were merely offering Congress a backup plan, though nothing in the documents they sent to Congress and the National Archives backs up that assertion."
"The indictment includes several statements the false electors made on social media that contradict those claims," the newspaper observed.
Jenny Guzman, director of Common Cause's Arizona program, said the indictment "marks the start of a new chapter for the fake elector scheme that has plagued Arizona."
"Arizonans are still dealing with the fallout from the false electors and the Big Lie about the 2020 elections," said Guzman. "We are relieved that the investigation by Attorney General Mayes has concluded and Arizonans can now know that what comes next is accountability. These efforts by these fake electors to undermine the will of Arizona’s voters have had implications far beyond their failed attempt to overthrow the 2020 election."
"This indictment can reassure all Arizonans that if anyone, regardless of their political affiliation, attempts to undermine their vote, consequences will follow," Guzman added.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Watchdog Urges FEC to Investigate Trump Campaign Over Scheme for Legal Fees
"By not disclosing the vendors that actually provided legal services, the Trump-affiliated committees effectively blocked the public from knowing which attorneys and firms are being paid—and how much."
Apr 24, 2024
A campaign finance watchdog on Wednesday filed a Federal Election Commission complaint accusing former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, affiliated political groups, and an accounting firm of violating U.S. law in a scheme "seemingly designed to obscure the true recipients of a noteworthy portion of Trump's legal bills."
The Washington, D.C.-based Campaign Legal Center (CLC) said that "evidence appears to show an illegal arrangement between several Trump-affiliated committees and a compliance firm named Red Curve Solutions that is designed to obscure the identities of those providing legal services and how much they are being paid."
"Voters have a right to know how the presidential campaigns and other committees supporting presidential candidates spend their money."
CLC alleges that the Trump campaign, Trump's political action committee (PAC) Save America, and three affiliated organizations "violated federal reporting requirements based on a scheme in which the committees reportedly paid over $7.2 million—described as 'reimbursement for legal' costs or expenses"—to Red Curve.
The watchdog also said that Red Curve appears to be "making or facilitating illegal contributions that violate either federal contribution limits or the prohibition on corporate contributions."
According to CLC:
Red Curve is a domestic limited liability company that offers compliance and FEC reporting services but does not appear to offer any legal services. It is managed by Bradley Crate, who also serves as the treasurer for each of the five Trump-affiliated committees concerned in this complaint, as well as over 200 other federal committees.
According to filings with the FEC, Red Curve appears to have been fronting legal costs for Trump since at least December 2022, with Trump-affiliated committees repaying the company later. This arrangement appears to violate FEC rules that require campaigns to disclose not only the entity being reimbursed (here, Red Curve) but also the underlying vendor. By not disclosing the vendors that actually provided legal services, the Trump-affiliated committees effectively blocked the public from knowing which attorneys and firms are being paid—and how much they are being paid—through this arrangement.
"Voters have a right to know how the presidential campaigns and other committees supporting presidential candidates spend their money," CLC senior director of campaign finance Erin Chlopak said in a statement. "When campaigns and committees obscure that information from the public, not only do they make it difficult to determine if the law has been violated, but they deny voters the ability to make an informed choice when casting a ballot."
"The steps taken by the Trump campaign, its affiliated committees, and Red Curve Solutions concealed information about how campaign funds were used to pay former President Trump's legal expenditures, including the amounts and ultimate recipients of these expenditures—and the FEC must investigate immediately," Chlopak added.
Trump—who is the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee—faces 91 federal and state felony charges related to his role in the January 6 insurrection and his organization's business practices. He is currently on trial in New York for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments to cover up sex scandals during the 2016 election cycle. The twice-impeached former president has been open about his use of campaign donations to pay his legal costs.
The new CLC filing comes a day after the watchdog filed separate FEC complaints urging investigations into a pair of Trump-affiliated "scam PACs," which "pretend to fundraise for major candidates or issues while secretly diverting almost all of their donors' money back into fundraising or the fraudsters' own pockets."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular