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Uptown Progressives is a member organization in the Coalition of Democratic and Progressive Organizations.
All working people have a right to fair compensation and treatment, and the free time needed for active citizenship. Labor unions are essential to insuring these rights.
Background
In the last century, the labor movement organized 30% of American workers, forced their employers to grant fair pay and benefits, and created a large middle class with the resources to take part in democracy. It was also decisive in winning social justice legislation such as the Voting Rights Act, OSHA, etc., that made life bearable for average Americans. But new technologies of production and logistics, along with "free trade" agreements, have banished millions of jobs to cheap-labor countries, thus reducing union membership to 12% of the workforce. Moreover, the right-wing political take-over has undermined government protections for labor.
Recommendations
To restore economic and political rights to the working majority of America, we must:
State Senate Minority Leader Prentiss Explains Why Minimum Wage Issue is Priority #1
At the February 28 General Meeting of Uptown Progressives, members heard Sen. C.J. Prentiss explain the Minimum Wage Constitutional Amendment campaign and its goals.
The Minimum Wage Campaign
Martha Maas introduced State Senate Minority Leader C.J. Prentiss and her staff members, Simone Morgan and Lois Jones. Sen. Prentiss talked about the campaign "Ohioans for a Fair Minimum Wage," which seeks to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would increase the minimum wage Ohio-only businesses pay employees over 16 years old from $4.25 to $6.85.
"It is immoral for anyone who works a 40-hour week to bring home only $10,000 a year," said Sen. Prentiss, pointing out that only Ohio and Kansas have state minimum wage levels for local companies that are below the $5.15 national minimum wage level paid by interstate companies; that one in five Ohioans work in poverty; and that 70% of minimum wage workers are adults, not kids, and 60% of them are women. Half of all minimum wage workers do not have a high school diploma, but the state has no substantive programs to increase their skills (it only has programs to teach people how to dress, behave at an interview, etc.).
There are a number of exemptions listed in the proposed amendment: family farms and businesses that hire only family members; companies with assets less than $250,000; householders hiring neighborhood kids and once-a-week help, for example. Those hiring disabled workers would follow the provisions of federal disability legislation.
Sen. Prentiss was asked what opponents of the proposed amendment say, and she replied that they allege that it would cause a loss of jobs in Ohio. The companies in question, however, will not leave Ohio - they are nearly all location-specific Ohio companies, whose business is here. Also it has been shown elsewhere that better paid workers are actually a boost to the economy, not a liability.
UP members present signed the ballot petitions, and many volunteered to carry petitions around as Lois Jones passed them out. Any member who wants to help can call Lois at 466-4857. Polling results in the state show that the issue resonates with Ohioans, and that it is likely to "bring out the base" at election time. Sen. Prentiss explained that when she introduced legislation to increase the minimum wage, the Republican leadership refused to hold hearings in the House, and did not attend those scheduled in the Senate. This made it clear that a ballot petition simply asking for legislation would not be effective, and a campaign for a constitutional amendment was begun.
Questions were raised concerning the cost of the campaign (approximately $3 million; and since businesses that circulate petitions charge $2.40 a signature, as much as possible needs to be done by volunteers), and about the participation of other organizations, especially in the religious community (Let Justice Roll, the National Council of Churches, B.R.E.A.D., and other community organizations such as Acorn are involved, as well as all the union organizations).
What's Planned for March?
At the general meeting on Monday, March 27, there will be a demonstration of voting machines, a discussion of UP's priority issues, and a Show-and-Tell of UP committees: what we've been doing, and what we're planning for the coming months. The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m.