Monthly Archives: May 2016

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Justices Reject Franchises’ Appeal over Seattle’s $15 min. Wage — McDonalds is NOT a Small business

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From the Washington Post
SEATTLE — The U.S. Supreme Court weighed in for the first time Monday on a $15-an-hour minimum wage, signaling it does not plan to stop the movement that is spreading across the nation, worker advocates say.
The justices refused to hear a challenge to Seattle’s law, which franchise owners said discriminates against them by treating them as large businesses.

From The Stranger (Seattle)
The International Franchise Association argued the law discriminated against franchises and violated the Commerce Clause. They lost that argument last year in U.S. District Court and the 9th Circuit. [The May 2nd] decision means those lower court decisions will stand. That’s good news for workers in Seattle and in cities across the country looking to follow our lead on $15.

 

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Over 100 volunteers gather 4,000 signatures in eight days to put $15/hour proposal on November ballot

Media Coverage in the Star Tribune and TC Daily Planet

Momentum behind the campaign to bring a $15 minimum wage to voters in Minneapolis is picking up! In the first week of signature collection to get $15 on the ballot, 15 Now and other supporting organizations engaged over 100 volunteers who gathered over 4,000 signatures. The speed and success in its first week of petition gathering and fundraising, combined with victories for $15 across the country, shows Minneapolis is ready for $15/hour.

Support for $15 has been growing for months. On Super Tuesday, 15 Now volunteers passed resolutions in every Minneapolis ward supporting the $15 ballot initiative, and in 100 precincts across the Twin Cities. Sanders decisively won at the Minneapolis caucuses, by 65% or more in some precincts, calling for a $15 minimum wage. Workers have gone on strike numerous times demanding $15/hour, alongside a package of workers’ rights reforms.

A poll released last fall conducted by the Feldman Group showed 82% of likely Minneapolis voters supported $15/hour phased in over time. The charter amendment proposes big business raise wages to $15 over 3.75 years, with an extended phase-up over 5.75 years to $15 for small-medium sized businesses. The first step for all workers (to $10/hour) would start on August 1, 2017. A growing list of community organizations and unions are backing this proposal as the correct initiative for Minneapolis. “Mayor Hodges and City Council have had two years to address Minneapolis’ worst in the nation racial and economic inequalities. We need to take our own initiative to get fair wages for local workers,” said Nekima Levy-Pounds, the President of the Minneapolis NAACP.

Volunteers are confident they’ll be able to gather 20,000 signatures or more before the July deadline. “Our first week shows how popular $15/hour is, but we need to remember that city council can pass our proposal as an ordinance at any time. We’d welcome that,” said Ginger Jentzen, Director for 15 Now. “But we need to keep organizing. City hall has refused to take action on Minneapolis’ dramatic racial and economic inequities. We’re taking an independent initiative to place the $15 decision back into the hands of those most affected: working people in Minneapolis.”

“CEO salaries are at an all-time high while wages for working people have stagnated. All workers need at least $15. No workers, whether they live in Minneapolis or Seattle, can put off paying the rent or putting food on the table. We don’t want to give big business any space to say it can’t be done in Minneapolis,” said Kip Hedges, 15 Now.