Don’t you just love a good march?
Union folks, laborers, the 15 Now group, and dozens of supporters certainly do. Earlier today a big ol’ group rallied outside Portland City Hall, demanding a minimum wage increase to $15.
“We think the state is taking a step in the right direction, for sure, with the recent proposal to raise the minimum wage to $13 by 2018,” said Jesse Stemmler with SEIU Local 49. “The legislature has done a lot of great work, but we think this is part of a bigger movement for workers’ rights.”
It’s the latest action and was planned to coincide with the 25th annual “Justice for Janitors” day.
READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP
“We live in a very special community, but unfortunately too many here suffer,” says Maria Moran, a janitor who works for a company that subcontracts with Adidas. “We work hard, we take great pride in our work and look to contribute to a better future for us and our kids. But it is getting harder and harder just to get by.”
After making a whole lot of noise in front of City Hall, the group headed to the Pittock Block at SW 10th and Washington to protest the building management’s decision, last year, to hire non-union janitorial staff that earn far below what union workers are paid.
“What they’re doing is hurting our community and (is) not in line with the values and expectations we have as a community,” said janitor Renato Quintero. “When Pittock ousted the old janitorial contractor, they put the bottom line before people. Many lost their jobs with little notice and now new workers have to work for less. It’s just not right.”
Here’s a video of them taking to the streets. Buncha rabblerousers:
Why not a ‘living wage’ tax? It would work not unlike a sales tax. I would love to see how quickly this initiative would fail if its proponents had to directly fund their ideology, along with everybody else.
Well-Meaning Idiots at it again.
This will not stop the wage disparity here in the US, but rather cause short term inflation to take away all gains workers will see.
As a contractor, in 2000, I decided to start paying $15 an hour and only hire “illegals”. Worked great for us.
Many jobs are considered below “middle class” only because they don’t pay enough. Raising the minimum wage would encourage businesses to create middle class jobs.