The voice of Saint Paul's working families since 1897
Backing the emergent campaign for a $15 minimum wage in St. Paul is the right thing to do, labor leaders said in a meeting with AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler last night. But as unions look to reverse the trend of declining density, joining the fight to raise wages is also about remaining relevant. “We […]
How do minimum-wage workers feel about Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson’s opposition to wage increases scheduled for 2015 and 2016, and cost-of-living increases scheduled to begin in 2018? Ask Darcy Landau, one of tens of thousands of workers statewide who saw their wages climb to $8 per hour Aug. 1. “Does Mr. Johnson realize the […]
On April 14, Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill gradually raising Minnesota’s minimum wage to $9.50 per hour by 2016 and indexing the wage so that it keeps pace with inflation beginning in 2018. The bill signing was a victory for more than 350,000 workers statewide who are expected to see a raise as a […]
Raising minimum wage to $9.50 per hour will improve the incomes of 357,000 working Minnesotans across the demographic spectrum. It would also improve the incomes of 202,000 working women. If we would have indexed Minnesota’s first minimum wage in 1973, $1.80 per hour, it would be approximately $9.50 today. Indexing minimum wage to $9.50 allows […]
Supporters of raising the state’s minimum wage – and indexing it to keep up with the cost of living – kept the pressure on state senators today, delivering more than 7,000 postcards from constituents demanding action. The postcards are the product of conversations with Minnesotans that began, Raise the Wage Coalition spokesperson Jennifer Munt said, […]
Raising the minimum wage to $9.50 would boost the paychecks of an estimated 20,000 workers in St. Paul, injecting $27 million into the city’s economy. In Minneapolis 30,000 workers would get a raise, a $40 million bump for the city’s economy. It’s no surprise, then, that both Twin Cities mayors today added theirs to the […]
When the Minnesota Legislature reconvenes on February 25th, lawmakers will be greeted by hundreds of people from Labor, Faith, Non-Profit, and Community Groups calling on them to increase Minnesota’s minimum wage to at least $9.50 per hour. The hundreds of Minnesotans gathered at the Capitol will be there because of one underlying principle; nobody who […]
As a military veteran with a college education, Darcy Landau is overqualified for his job as a wheelchair agent at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Earning wages of $7.25 per hour, Landau struggles to make monthly car payments, pay back his student loans and meet his basic needs. “If it weren’t for the VA,” Landau said, […]
The Minnesota Legislature is expected to take up the $9.50 an hour minimum wage bill in the first weeks of the 2014 legislative session. Raising Minnesota’s minimum wage to $9.50 an hour would mean a raise for 360,000 working Minnesotans and significant gains in purchasing power for women and people of color, according to a […]
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