A small ray of light broke through Washington’s cloudy economic picture on Friday, with the announcement that the state’s minimum wage will see a 12-cent cost-of-living increase in 2011, per the state’s 1998 voter-approved initiative. A coalition of local community,…
From Public News Service: By Chris Thomas OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington Governor Chris Gregoire has delayed her annual minimum-wage announcement for the upcoming year until this week. The Washington Attorney General, Rob McKenna, believes there hasn’t been enough change in…
Since paying its first benefit check in January of 1940, Social Security has been a bedrock of economic security for millions of American seniors, children, widows and widowers, and disabled workers. Social Security represents the best of American values: rewarding…
A report from ABC News examines the salary gap between working women with children and those without kids, finding that women with children earn just 75% of men’s wages (compared to 90% for women without kids) — on average, $11,000…
While “I’ve got mine” is an easy attitude to cop, there’s evidence that getting ahead alone isn’t as beneficial to you as making sure others can do the same. The national discussion over a minimum paid sick days work standard…
Every year, the Social Security Trustees are required by law to project the program’s finances 75 years into the future. Doing so requires making numerous assumptions about productivity, economic growth, wages, fertility, longevity, immigration rates, and other factors. Often thought…
Senate Appropriations Committee includes $10 million for state paid family leave programs: In its draft budget, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has included $10 million to help states cover start-up costs for paid family leave programs. It’s not the full…
Working people throughout the United States struggle to meet their responsibilities both to their families and to their jobs. Some collective bargaining agreements and individual companies provide generous paid leave benefits. But many middle and lower income workers have…
From the Seattle Times: Tasha West-Baker can make you a latte, slice your lunch meat or make you a cake at Safeway. And she could make your entire family ill for days. West-Baker doesn’t get paid sick days from the…
It’s no secret that workplace benefits like paid sick days and paid family leave reduce turnover, boost morale and improve workplace productivity. Not only do these benefits also come at a low financial cost to businesses, but employers who offer…
