In 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. said: “We must rapidly begin the shift from a ‘thing-oriented’ society to a ‘person-oriented’ society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism and militarism are incapable of being conquered.”
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McDonald’s made a bit of a splash this week when it told the Wall Street Journal it will soon raise starting pay for employees by $1.00 over local minimum wage rates. According to company, this will bring average hourly wages of covered employees to $9.90 by July 1st of this year, and to more than $10 by the end of 2016.
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“Put some mustard on it.” That’s the advice that Chicago McDonald’s worker Brittney Berry received from her manager after suffering a scalding burn on her arm from the grill used to make eggs. And this was no minor burn – she was eventually taken to the hospital in an ambulance, and had to miss work for six months.
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Thousands are traveling to Selma this week to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. President Obama, national civil rights leaders, and Americans from across the country will gather here to remember the events of Selma’s past and reflect on how much progress has been made.
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Home care workers bathe your mother and change your father’s bandages. We cook for your grandmother and help your grandfather use the toilet. We help your brother or sister with their physical therapy. But despite doing the hard work that enables older Americans and people with disabilities to live with dignity and independence in their own... read more
Mitt Romney’s flirtation with a third presidential run was brief. But it lasted just long enough to raise a key issue that could become a central part of the 2016 race. Earlier this week, Romney and President Obama traded barbs over poverty, amid growing calls by Republicans to address inequality. “Even though their policies haven’t quite caught... read more
More than half of children attending U.S. public schools come from low-income families, qualifying them for a free or reduced-price school lunch, a new report reveals.
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In a year of major Republican victories, the campaign to raise minimum wage has been the rare success story for the left. This year, twenty states will see a minimum wage increase—more than half because state legislatures passed a law or voters approved a ballot initiative to do so. Having racked up victories in recent months, progressive... read more
A little over a year ago, something happened that our nation’s leaders promised would not: our country’s first line of defense against hunger, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program), was slashed. Every one of the more than 47 million Americans who rely on SNAP – including nearly 1.9 million... read more
Michigan's Republican governor has signed legislation to start a pilot program that will drug test adult welfare recipients suspected of using drug in three of that state's counties. The bill, signed Friday by Governor Rick Snyder, was among several bills the governor signed the day after Christmas. read more
Holidays are around the corner. Many are planning vacations. But there are differences among us in our ability to actually take vacations. The wealthy can take vacations at resorts, while those earning less only see such places on television. Many low wage workers are unlikely to take any vacation at all. read more
Fast-food workers in more than 190 cities across the nation took to the streets once again on Thursday with their call for $15 an hour and union rights. But no longer are they carrying the banner of change on their own. read more
Thousands of low-wage employees in approximately 190 cities walked off the job Thursday in what organizers are calling the largest fast food worker strike to date. read more
This should be a time of plenty in our country, and a season of thanks. So how can we explain why the hunger that spiked at the beginning of the recession has not declined? read more
Opposition to the minimum wage is crumbling, and Tuesday’s election results provide further proof.Sure, Democrats – who have championed increasing the minimum wage – might have lost the Senate. But across both red and blue states and regardless of party affiliation, this year voters made raising wages – not Republicans – the real winner of the... read more
