One of my District 3 ticketmates, Democratic House candidate Justin Roemmick, includes the $15 minimum wage in his pro-worker platform. I’ve thought that we might have a hard time getting our ALEC-corporate, anti-labor Republican Legislature to go along with making the jump from our slowly indexed $8.85 an hour to a much more livable $15.
But Republican legislators in North Carolina approved $15 an hour as the minimum wage for state employees this summer, over the budgetary veto of their Democratic governor:
Momentum for wage increases had been building for several years and intensified in 2016 with a grassroots campaign by the State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC). As in many states, public workers’ salaries in North Carolina have lagged behind inflation since the Great Recession. The state’s lowest paid workers made $24,300. The new $15 wage will give them a 28 percent raise.
“Working for the state of North Carolina should not be a path to poverty,” says Robert Broome, SEANC’s executive director. “We had folks who shared their stories about working second jobs to make ends meet and folks who worked for the state who qualified for assistance. We had people who had been with the state for two decades or more who were still making what I consider poverty-level wages” [Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene, “A Red State Raises Its Workers’ Minimum Wage to $15,” Governing, 2018.08.27].
Helping grease the Republican wheels toward this living wage for state workers was a $357-million revenue surge, 1.5% more than North Carolina thought it would have to spend on its two-year budget plan. Also helping was the idea of focusing on public-sector employees first:
[N.C. State Senator Phil] Berger stresses that the $15 wage doesn’t betray conservative beliefs because it doesn’t impose on the private sector.
“Wearing our hat as an employer, we felt it was the right decision for us to make. We would not require other employers to do this,” he says, adding that “good responsible employers look to their employees as assets” [Barrett & Greene, 2018.08.27].
See? Even Republicans can be made to see employees as assets, not liabilities. Perhaps we can press our Republican legislators to set that positive example for the private sector and drive wages (and quality of life!) upward for all South Dakota workers.
Related Speaking: I’ll talk about North Carolina’s $15 minimum wage for state workers and more at my public forum on labor rights tonight, 7 p.m., at the K.O. Lee Public Library here in Aberdeen!
That’s “five star” innovation. Giving yourself and all gov’t workers a 30% pay raise and saying that gov’t just doesn’t want to infringe on private business. Jealousy is a valid tool for change. It won’t be long until every low paid worker in NoCarolina is asking why they don’t get $15 an hour. Brilliant!!
mmm Hmmm,,,The times they are Changin’! The Ole Pendulum never stops movin’!
In this, the Democratic Governor had his veto right.
This just doesnt sound real!
IN related news … The NoCarolina racially gerrymandered districts that gave Trump his disputed win must be redrawn before the election, says the court.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article217419880.html
I wonder how Mr. H’s speechifying went tonight, and if there were hecklers in the crowd that bested him with smart-ass comments or challenged any flaws in his arguments. I wonder how many fellows showed up, and if food was provided for them, or beverages. I hope Mr. H is OK.
Brilliant! Having a state government with such wonderful insight that they “KNOW” the profit and loss margin of every company in the state should lead to a plethora of more jobs and money for all! Why next they should declare EVERYONE a MILLIONAIRE!!!!
I only hope the high school kid working 20 hours a week at Mickey D’s knows how to put something away for the future. Like 3 months down the road when they replace him with a kiosk. . .
That’s kind of a back handed well-wish, Grudzie but if that’s the best you’ve got, good on you.
What, the veto compliment for the libbie Governor or hoping Mr. H got through his challenging night OK? I, for one, wish Mr. H used his technological prowess to make movies of these things so we could all learn about his views and he could educate an wider audience than his perceived voter base. For instance, all of the people who blog here, the vast majority of which aren’t even eligible to vote in South Dakota let alone in District 3.
Mr. H is promoting unions, tonight Mr. G. Any thoughts on unions? I have a union story I wrote down, just for you Grudzie … if you’re interested, that is?
I would very much like to read your union story.
But you know my thoughts on unions, which are almost dead in South Dakota, and are dying faster than flies beneath Mr. Seiler’s swatters. Those thoughts can generally be explained as the thoughts of the majority of South Dakotans: Unions are bad, they are very bad.
But do tell your story, as I will need some breakfasting reading. Thank you, Mr. Lansing, for being a swell enough fellow.
First of all, I too would enjoy and use a blue swatter. The flies from your goats (that I’ve been caring for) are getting bigger and need swatting.
~ Grudzie – When I was a union boss all my men and women got tokens for haircuts. Not only were we the most highly skilled and motivated workers on any big job but we looked crisp. We appreciated what appearance meant to company bosses and to our Teamster pride and work ethic. Workers could go to any barber/hairdresser they chose, to use their tokens. When those barbers/hairdressers would cash in the tokens, we paid those stylists/cutters twice the going haircut rate those stylists/cutters charged non union customers. Conversation with the barbers/hairdressers became a conduit for union members to learn about other union members and what was going on across the city and state. Also, all haircutters and their families were invited to the Teamster’s Christmas Party, which included gifts, food, beverages, entertainment and free rides home from police officers, who were also invited. (Our Teamster drivers also provided complimentary rides home for cops, at their Police Union Christmas Party.) Any barber’s uncashed tokens were worth double on any of the gaming tables at the Christmas party (which often lasted more than just overnight). Hard work and appearance went hand in hand during those days (70’s – 80’s) of long hair on the job. Haircutters were a big part of my team. The union told no worker how to wear their hair. We just provided the means to keep it neat and trimmed. Wish you’d have been in Colorado in the 70’s – 80’s, Grudzie. Teamsters and barbers were always good friends. Barbers/hairdressers and Unions are common worker brotherhoods and sisterhoods.
That’s mighty decent of those NC Repubs. Obviously they aren’t Russpublicans because Pootie would never stand for that.
Some business owners seem to have learned how to use employees from the ones in “The Jungle,” written by Upton Sinclair.
OS, read the article: NC raised the minimum wage just for state jobs, not for every company in the state. Slow down and read instead of leaping to your usual irrelevant fight points.
Don’t get on the NC wingnut bandwagon just yet. They are still trying to strip the new Democratic governor of all the powers they gave to the last wingnut governor. They have already attempted to strip the Guv of appointing commission members and judges. They are not, repeat not nice docile human beings.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/12/17/nc-gop-strips-some-democratic-governors-power/95555182/
goes with above comment
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/federal-judges-again-rule-north-carolina-congressional-map-unconstitutional-n904326
Here we go again.
Hey, Mike, I’m not on their bandwagon, but when Republicans are willing to raise wages, I’m willing to work with them.