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News and Updates
Issues
February 20, 2013
The Minimum Wage Debate
In last week’s State of the Union Address, President Obama made it clear that raising our country’s federal minimum wage to $9.00 an hour was one of his top priorities. Many agree with President Obama that raising the minimum wage from the current rate of $7.25 is a necessary step to rebuilding our middle class and strengthening our economy, including members of labor unions. Take a look at this chart:
The Center for Economic and Policy Research poses this question:
“Suppose the minimum wage had kept in step with productivity growth over the last 44 years. In other words, rather than just keeping purchasing power constant at the 1969 level, suppose that our lowest paid workers shared evenly in the economic growth over the intervening years.”
As the graph displays, in the past, when minimum wage was tied to productivity, workers benefited:
“This should not seem like a far-fetched idea. In the years from 1947 to 1969 the minimum wage actually did keep pace with productivity growth. (This is probably also true for the decade from when the federal minimum wage was first established in 1937 to 1947, but we don’t have good data on productivity for this period.)
As the graph shows, the minimum wage generally was increased in step with productivity over these years. This led to 170 percent increase in the real value of the minimum wage over the years from 1948 to 1968. If this pattern of wage increases for those at the bottom was supposed to stifle growth, the economy didn’t get the message. Growth averaged 4.0 percent annually from 1947 to 1969 and the unemployment rate for the year 1969 averaged less than 4.0 percent.
This changed in the 1970’s, when the real value of minimum wage declined sharply and only kept up with inflation. This major shift in policy change happened without any public debate it would seem. The Center for Economic and Policy Research notes that if “the minimum wage had kept pace with productivity growth it would be $16.54 in 2012 dollars”.
A Business Insider piece also quotes Op-Ed columnist Ezra Klein, who notes that:
“a minimum wage is like a proxy labor union; sure it may have some employment effects, but it effectively raises the wage bargaining power of those workers who do manage to find employment. In the absence of such bargaining power, we can’t expect any meaningful increase in wages at the low end of the income spectrum.”
The article also cites a study in which found that minimum wage increases had no adverse effects on employment, and actually lead to increased employment rates among single women with children. Some date also backs the idea that reasonable wage increases affect wage hikes further up the pay scale (and also decreases the wage gap), and also provide workers with motivation to be more productive.
The fact is, raising the minimum wage would raise living standards for millions of workers who are currently living at or just above the poverty line.
As for the second argument, that $9.00 an hour still is not enough to provide a decent living for millions of working class Americans, we agree for the most part. However, not only is $9/hour a step in the right direction, it is also good for union members, who stand to seek even greater wage increases in their contracts, if they make more than the current minimum wage of $7.25.
In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “unionized food service employees have median weekly salaries that are $100 higher than non-union workers.”
Also, although the President is pushing for a $9 minimum wage, several state governments are pushing for $10 or more, as in Maryland.
$9 an hour is not a perfect solution. It will not raise all of America out of poverty. However, it is certainly a great stride towards providing more Americans a platform to the middle class- something that all of America should agree we need to rebuild in order to restore our economy. As President Obama noted in his SOTU address, no American working a full-time job should be living under the poverty line and nor should, if we can help it, anyone else.
February 12, 2013
Looking Forward to Moving Forward
This evening, President Obama will be giving his fourth State of the Union Address. Working families are looking forward to hearing a speech where jobs and the economy are the primary focus.
A few weeks ago, during his Inaugural Address, the President displayed a boldness not often enough seen in his first term by discussing the need to preserve the social safety system and the need for immigration reform.
To UFCW members across the country who worked tirelessly to ensure his re-election, these subjects were welcomed. Tonight, we’re hoping UFCW members hear even more about the issues they care about – particularly the right to have a voice in the workplace.
For the last couple of years, corporations and their cronies in government have constantly attacked labor unions and the freedom to collectively bargain. It would be welcomed for President Obama to outline his second term vision for a strong economy by condemning the “right to work” campaign that is threatening the American middle class.
This isn’t just important to union members – it’s important to the entire country that the right of workers to collectively bargain for the wages and benefits that they deserve is protected.
Unfortunately, these workplace rights won’t mean much if millions of workers in America still have no rights at all. Last month, President Obama declared that the time to create a pathway to citizenship for aspiring American workers is right now. UFCW members wholeheartedly agreed.
Comprehensive immigration reform is common sense and it’s an issue we’re looking forward to hearing more about this evening.
There’s little doubt among working families that the next few years will hold plenty of challenges. The economy is still in recovery, jobs aren’t plentiful enough, and the partisan gridlock surrounding Congress has become a constant concern. Hopefully tonight President Obama lays out a path forward that promotes a fair shot at prosperity for anyone who dreams of it and makes us all feel confident in the future of our union (both of them).
Grab your friends, your family and tune in tonight at 9 p.m. (ET).
February 11, 2013
Why the Violence Against Women Act Needs to be Reauthorized. Now.
Three women a day are killed as a result of domestic violence. Every one out of five women are raped in their lifetime. These sobering statistics are why reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) should be above petty politics. Unfortunately, House Republicans are casting aside their moral compass for their political one and women across the country are being left vulnerable.
The annual incidence of domestic violence has decreased by more than 53 percent since VAWA became law in 1994 and reporting by victims has also increased by 51 percent. This dramatic improvement helps explain why the VAWA has been reauthorized twice since 1994 without controversy.
The latest version of the bill, which has bipartisan support in the Senate from Democrats and Republicans, broadens the law by expanding its provisions to cover Native Americans, gays, and lesbians. The bill would also give more emphasis to sexual assault prevention and take steps to reduce the rape kit backlog.
While the bill is expected to pass in the Senate with bipartisan support, House Republicans are balking at the prospect of allowing tribal courts to prosecute non-Native Americans who commit domestic and sexual violence on reservations. Perhaps they should look at the statistics.
Compared with other groups, Native American women are more likely to be raped and abused. The National Congress of American Indians released findings that showed 39 percent of American Indian and Alaska native women will experience violence by a partner in their lifetimes.
Currently, non-Native Americans who abuse their spouses often go unpunished because federal authorities don’t have the resources to pursue misdemeanors committed on reservations.
At UFCW, we have a long, proud history of standing up for fair and equal treatment of all workers both inside and outside of the workplace. Expanding the VAWA to Native Americans, gays, and lesbians isn’t just an essential step towards ensuring the domestic abuse crisis in this country is met, it’s also the right and fair thing to do.
Moderate House Republicans should call on their leadership to pass the bipartisan Senate bill as soon as they are able. Lives are depending upon this bill getting off the back burner and passing. The battered and abused don’t have time for these political games.
January 7, 2013
The Real Reason Your Paycheck is Lower
Last Friday, #WhyMyPaycheckIsLessThisWeek began trending on Twitter. Tweeters were quick to blame President Obama, free birth control, immigrants, and a number of other things for the deductions they saw in their paychecks last week, following the “fiscal cliff”.
Rush Limbaugh ranted that paychecks declined in order to pay for “another Obama vacation,” and similar (outrageous) complaints have been made by other conservatives with large followings as well.
None of these are true. In reality, the decrease in paychecks is due to the expiration of the payroll tax holiday, which went into affect on January 1st. According to Working America, the payroll tax cut expiration was, among other things, the result of “the lack of attention to job-creating policies that help workers pay their bills, and devotion of Republicans and some Democrats to ‘cutting spending’ while protecting the interests of their wealthy and corporate sponsors.”
Here’s a bit more background, based on actual facts, not accusations:
-The payroll tax cut lowered payroll taxes from 6.2% to 4.2%, and went into effect in 2010. It was set to expire in December 2011, but after a vote was extended until January 1st, 2013.
-As the new year approached, the “Fiscal Cliff” was created in order to set a deadline about how to offset the national debt.
-President Obama, in his initial offer to Boehner, wanted to extend the payroll tax holiday, however he was rejected because the offer did not extend Bush tax cuts to the wealthiest 2% of Americans. During the series of concessions and offers that took place during the fiscal cliff negotiations, the payroll tax holiday extension was dropped, as a concession by President Obama to House Republicans.
-Regardless, experts predicted the concession of the payroll tax holiday extension as early as September 2012, before the country knew who our next President would be.
source: Wonkblog
December 14, 2012
No Rest for Macy’s Workers this Holiday Season
Macy’s recently announced that most of its stores will be open continuously in the 48 hours leading up to Christmas Eve for its last “One Day Sale” of the season. While this is good news for shoppers, it’s not so great for the many retail workers who are struggling this holiday season.
The UFCW represents thousands of Macy’s workers throughout the country who have a voice in their scheduling and earn premium pay on holidays thanks to a union contract that they negotiated with their employers. That contract is the difference between a Macy’s worker with no union representation being forced to work undesirable hours on a holiday and a union Macy’s worker who wants to pick up an additional shift.
The retail sector is the largest employment industry in the United States, and retail jobs are increasingly setting the working and living standards for American workers. That’s why it’s critically important that all employers in this industry compensate workers with the kind of pay and benefits that allow them to live in the middle class.
Academic studies, including a recent report by Demos, provide quantitative evidence that retailers, workers, and the U.S. economy stands to benefit greatly if retail companies invest in their workforce. According to the Demos report, raising wages for full-time retail workers at the nation’s largest retail companies (those employing at least 1,000 workers) would result in improving the lives of more than 1.5 million retail workers and their families who are currently living in poverty or hovering just above the poverty line.
The entire UFCW family is proud of the courage that Macy’s workers show every day — in the face of retaliation from management and in some instances, heroic actions in the face of violence, as was the case of the Macy’s worker who selflessly looked after others when a gunman opened fire at a mall in Oregon. We wish our members and all Macy’s workers around the country a safe and peaceful holiday season.
November 30, 2012
Help Ensure a Happy New Year for Working Families: Tell Congress to Act Now!
Post or find your local event happening in the coming weeks and for the Candlelight Campaign Against Cuts on December 10.
President Obama has sent a proposal to the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives that will help ensure that 98 percent of American families and 97 percent of small businesses won’t have to ring in the new year with a tax increase.
If Congress fails to act on this proposal, a typical middle class family of four will see a $2,000 tax increase. Imagine having $2,000 less to spend in 2013! Everything from buying groceries to paying your rent or mortgage will become more difficult to afford. It’s the absolute last thing working families need or deserve.
It’s important that the voices of working families are heard in this debate. President Obama is asking voters everywhere to contact their members of Congress and let them know how taking away $2,000 from your income will impact you and your family. The Twitter hashtag, #My2K, has been created to make this conversation easy to join.
Please help ensure a happy new year for all of us by making your voices heard. Go to Twitter today and send a tweet with #My2K attached to friends, family and members of Congress.
November 8, 2012
UFCW Members Help to Elect Barack Obama!
We polled our members and asked if they voted. The results show that UFCW members had great voter turnout, and played a big role in supporting and re-electing President Obama! Here are some member reactions to the big win:
“amen!!!”
“yes sir, i voted- we as union workers are the big winners tonight!!”
“God bless America.”
“Thank god!! now if we can just get our congress and senate to work for the people and r president …life will be grand!”
“i am very happy again”
“yes, it is time too celebrate and work hard for a stronger America!”
“yea lets move forward”
November 7, 2012
UFCW Urges Congress to End Tax Breaks for Millionaires and Billionaires and Protect Social Safety Net
Now that the election is over, Congress will meet for a lame duck session to deal with important unresolved issues. The Bush tax cuts—which have largely benefited millionaires and billionaires, are set to expire. The UFCW supports ending these tax breaks for the richest 2 percent. In addition, Congress must take action on $6 billion in spending cuts scheduled to take place on January 1, 2013. The UFCW opposes any benefit cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. We support deficit reduction, but it must be done responsibly by asking the wealthy to pay their fair share.
- For a list of public events at Congressional Offices on Thursday, November 8, click here.
- To contact your Member of Congress, call 888-659-9401.
November 6, 2012
Joe Hansen Spells Out What’s at Stake Today, in the Huffington Post
“President Obama stands with workers. And Mitt Romney cannot stand them.”
This was UFCW President Joe Hansen’s message, summed up by a simple statement, in yesterday’s Huffington Post article, “A Clear Choice for Workers“.
President Hansen couldn’t have been more on the money. Citing Vice President Joe Biden, who spoke to UFCW members this past Thursday, President Hansen pointed out that there has never been a clearer choice for workers in a presidential election about which candidate will stand up for them and fight for their rights alongside middle class America.
This year, a fed up and frustrated public supported tea party conservatives in several states, and once elected, these officials began a blatant attack on workers with “right-to-work” acts that aimed to take collective bargaining off the table, and threatened unions of all sorts, making the ability for teachers, firefighters, medical workers, and scores of other public employees to have a voice on the job virtually impossible. President Hansen points out that the politicians who worked so hard to pass these type of actions, did nothing to create jobs. Electing Mitt Romney as our next president would only mean more anti-worker policies, when our country is in need of 
more, quality jobs. President Obama on the other hand, has proven to be a job creator.
President Hansen continues by stressing that unions have no place in the formerly know as “Moderate Mitt’s” presidency, who has flip-flopped into the palm of right-wing conservatives who no longer see union workers as “respectful adversaries across the negotiating table,” but “as bottom lines to be squeezed.”
When Romney says he will go after union bosses, President Hansen says, he is only threatening a cashier, or grocery bagger, or construction worker, or teacher who was brave enough to stand up and form a union and have a voice. If you are undecided about who to vote for today, read Joe’s message and do what’s right for working America- vote for four more years of President Obama.
November 5, 2012
Positive Proof: President Obama is a Job Creator
In the last glimpse at job growth before tomorrow’s election, the numbers showed a modest increase in the month of October, with the unemployment rate now at 7.8 percent. On Friday, The Labor Department reported that 171,000 jobs were added, in a wide variety of career fields. These latest statistics mean that during President Obama’s four years in office, there has been a net gain in jobs.
If this isn’t enough proof for conservative officials who claimed that September’s statistics, that showed the unemployment rate had fallen below 8% for the first time since since the President took office, were a fluke- then we don’t know what is. It’s evident now more than ever that our president is a job creator. The recovery process is slow, and there is still much to be done- like increasing stagnant wages and providing more full time work- but the choice is clear. Go out tomorrow and vote for the working class.
