by Randy LoBasso

– Philadelphia State Sen. Christine Tartaglione recently announced plans to introduce a bill which would raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $9 per hour.

Tartaglione, who represents parts of North and Northeast Philadelphia, joined with the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Philadelphia and local company Little Baby’s Ice Cream to make the announcement in time for Labor Day.

The state senator, who represents the second district, has been one of Harrisburg’s champions of labor and workers’ rights during her tenure in the state Senate, writing the bill that would eventually raise the minimum wage form $5.15 an hour to $7.15 in the middle of last decade.

The state’s minimum wage has now been stuck at $7.25 per hour since 2009, when the federal government raised the wage nationwide and Pennsylvania was forced to follow suit. The tipped minimum wage has remained below $3, however, since the early 90s.

Earlier this year, the senator noted what she’d be up against in the “Labor Report” section of her website.

“Today, we again have a governor and bicameral majorities that oppose adjusting the minimum wage for inflation, even though the last time we did it, Pennsylvania’s poverty rate took its biggest drop in decades. Opponents’ predictions of job losses were debunked with strong growth in low-wage service and health-care jobs,” she said.

Getting a minimum wage hike passed Gov. Corbett and some new rank-and-file Tea Party Republicans in the state Legislature is going to be harder than it was under Rendell—if not impossible.

The professional and libertarian right have always fought for the idea that if you raise the minimum wage, you not only take money from the CEO’s and owners’ pockets (the “job creators”), but you actually put more people out of a job. This theory has generally not proven to be true since the minimum wage has existed. Though the same argument has often been made of raising taxes on big business.

A worker earning minimum wage in Pennsylvania currently takes in about $290 per week, or $15,080 per year, and is often forced to take public assistance. This often means it’s the taxpayer, rather than the CEO, footing some of the bill for the minimum wage worker. Raising the wage to $9 would give employees about $3,500 more per year.

Last week, fast food employees staged a national walkout in numerous cities, including Wilmington, Delaware, demanding a $15 minimum wage.

Tartaglione’s most recent incarnation of a minimum wage standard happens to coincide with President Obama’s desire to raise the wage to the same numeric value, which he noted at his 2013 State of the Union.

Earlier this year, Philadelphia City Council expanded the 21st Century Minimum Wage and Benefits Standard to force city companies and contractors with 25 employees or fewer to pay a living wage of $10.88 per hour. This, of course, did not include private-sector workers in the city.

Source: http://blogs.philadelphiaweekly.com/phillynow/2013/09/03/minimumwage201/

“Remembering and Honoring” those pioneers, past and present, who have dedicated their lives to fighting the fight for fair working conditions, standards and living wages for working families and the middle class in America! The Struggle Continues and So do We!!!!

In Solidarity, We Thank The Labor Movement!

From PhillyLabor.com

By Walter Wise (Iron Workers General President)

– Labor Day became a national holiday in 1894, pre-dating the founding of our own International Association. It was a time of brutal working conditions: 6-12s the standard workweek; child labor; no holidays, no sick days or pensions; and worker safety was unheard of. It was a time when corporate power and excesses were at a peak. Monopolies dominated industries and labor alike. Wages were depressed to the point where workers were paid in company script (money) that could only be spent on housing, goods or services sold by the employer. Most employees owed more than they earned each month.

Intolerable conditions led to strikes that were met with brutal retaliation from company thugs, the police and even the government. Those confrontations were described as a second “civil war.” Labor Day as a federal holiday was a failed attempt by President Cleveland to gain labor support for a third term after he sent 12,000 federal troops to break the Pullman Car Company strike where at least 13 strikers were killed. The demands of decent wages, an 8-hour workday and the right to organize did not come about until nearly 50 years later. Labor Day represents our fight, not a victory.

The strength of individual workers overcame ethnic and racial tension to unite in their common plight. They fought to gain bargaining power with their employer, to demand a fair share of the profits that their labor helped generate. As Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president, said: “Labor is the superior of capital and deserves much the higher consideration.”

Since the eighties, that shared equity partnership has been broken. Not between us and our signatory contractors, but by the moneyed interests of Wall Street with their pursuit of unfair profits and higher bonuses at the expense of everyone else, including our own nation’s independence and security.

This history is not only worthy of being remembered on Labor Day, but every day you walk into the workplace, every time you cash your collectively bargained paycheck, each year when you vote and every time you hug your loved ones. Our fight continues.

Thank you for helping to build our great Union.

Source: http://www.ironworkers.org/news-magazine/news/2013/08/30/labor-day-represents-our-continued-fight-not-a-victory

By Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO President, Patrick J. Eiding

– Labor Day has been an institution in the United States of America since Congress first recognized it as a Federal Holiday in 1894. It represents a time for socializing at barbeques and family picnics. For many of us it marks the end of the summer and the return to our regular routines. For retailers, Labor Day weekend is one of the busiest times of the year, second only to the day after Thanksgiving.
Labor Day has changed over the last 120 years, but one thing has remained the same: it’s still a celebration of America’s working people. And we need to celebrate and honor America’s workers now more than ever, because we’re staring down some of the toughest challenges we’ve ever faced.

In some ways, things look very good. American corporations are incredibly profitable. And American workers are incredibly productive. But generations of American workers haven’t been getting their fair share of what we’ve produced: according to a 2011 Economic Policy Institute report [http://www.epi.org/publication/the_sad_but_true_story_of_wages_in_america/], between 1979 and 2009, American productivity increased by 80%, while wages went up only 10.1%.

A recent story in the Philadelphia Daily News [http://articles.philly.com/2013-08-22/news/41437651_1_labor-force-job-market-job-seekers] offered more sobering facts at a local level: along with 67,300 Philadelphians who are considered officially “unemployed”, there are another 57,700 Philadelphians who have been out of work for so long that they’ve fallen off the rolls. Add together the officially-unemployed and the long-term unemployed, and you get a figure of 125,000 Philadelphians — 19% of our potential workers being out of work.

One thing I haven’t mentioned about Labor Day – it’s traditionally the start of the political campaign season. But the failure of our political leaders is one of the reasons for the mess we’re in today. I think we need leaders who value and honor working people, every day of the year, and not just on Labor Day. And they need to honor workers not just with handshakes and soundbites, but with their effort and the policies they fight for: more investment in our schools and essential public services, expanding access to healthcare, reforming our nation’s immigration laws.

The man who was the head of the American Federation of Labor back on the first Labor Day was Samuel Gompers, a cigar-maker who’d immigrated to New York City from England when he was a boy. In 1915, he summed up labor’s goals this way:

“What does labor want? We want more schoolhouses and less jails; more books and less arsenals; more learning and less vice; more leisure and less greed; more justice and less revenge; in fact, more of the opportunities to cultivate our better natures.”

Here in 2013, our aims are basically the same. Across the country, in fast-food restaurants and at Walmarts, workers are standing up and demanding fair treatment and a fair day’s pay for the work they do. Here in Philadelphia, teachers and students and parents have stood together, demanding investment in our schools and fair treatment for public school employees. That kind of courage is what makes progress. And it’s what gives me hope for America’s workers as we celebrate another Labor Day.

Source: http://www.phillyrecord.com/2013/08/pat-eiding-labor-day-still-celebration-of-working-people/

By JoAnne Ruden

– It’s fitting that we have a day like Labor Day to honor workers for their contributions to our nation’s strength and prosperity. First celebrated in 1882 by a labor union, and declared a legal holiday by Congress in 1894, Labor Day has evolved from a day of honor to the unofficial end of summer. Here in Pennsylvania, our 6.5 million full-time workers celebrate with neighborhood barbecues, family get-togethers and other final hurrahs.

But let’s remember Labor Day’s real meaning and use it as a time to recognize issues facing today’s employees. Among the most serious: working full-time while caring for family members. According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), one in six Americans is juggling these two huge responsibilities. For caregivers, there is no day of rest.

From higher levels of depression and anxiety to coping with feelings from despair to apathy, the emotional toll on caregivers is significant. Physical pains such as headaches and back pains are common. Together, the emotional and physical stresses can increase a person’s risk for heart disease, cancer, diabetes and arthritis according to the Family Caregiver Alliance.

Naturally, there’s a huge impact for U.S. businesses. The National Alliance for Caregiving estimates that those with eldercare responsibilities cost employers $13.4 billion a year in excess medical costs. NHPCO found that lateness, absenteeism, employee turnover and loss of efficiency add up to $34 billion in lost productivity. For some caregivers — lost wages, social security benefits and pensions due to dropping out of the labor force to care for a loved one full time averages $143,000. The financial impact is staggering.

The bottom line: Caregiving is a vital business issue. Employers lose productivity and face increased healthcare costs. Employees lose jobs, opportunities for advancement, and in many cases, their health.

Help is available for caregivers. One good source is the Caring with Confidence website: http://careconfidently.com/. While specifically aimed at hospice caregivers, the site includes information valuable to anyone caring for a family member, particularly those who are managing a career in addition to their home responsibilities.

Without a doubt, working caregivers need and deserve our support. Let’s show them that the selfless tasks they do for loved ones and their diligent work on the job is appreciated, not just on Labor Day, but on every day of the year.

Source: http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/component/flexicontent/item/58793-this-labor-day-lets-remember-workers-caring-for-loved-ones-at-home&Itemid=219&linktype=hp_speakeasy