On Black Friday ”“ the day after Thanksgiving ”“ workers walked off the job at Walmart and some fastfood restaurants ”“ including McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s ”“ in major cities across the country. An article entitled “Walmart protest aims for dignity” appeared in the Scarborough edition of The Current newspaper on Dec. 4. The article reported that about 50 people protested outside the Walmart store in Scarborough on Black Friday. “They were advocating for better wages and the opportunity for full-time hours for workers for the national chain,” it stated.
John Newton, an organizer of the event, was quoted as saying that a group of employees called “OUR Walmart,” which stands for Organization United for Respect, has asked the company for a pay rate of $15 per hour and full-time work if they want it. He went on to say that the Nov. 28 event was the third consecutive year of Black Friday protests at Walmart stores around the country supporting low-wage workers, stating “To make the kind of changes we want ”“ a redistribution of income and wealth ”“ we need a social movement of working-class people to actively fight for power.”
During this holiday season, we need to remember the less fortunate. It is convenient to shop at Walmart as a one-stop discount shopping center, but what is the real price that we pay for these low prices as a society? Walmart has discontinued offering its employees health insurance; instead, telling them to shop for insurance online at the Affordable Care Act website. On Jan. 1, Walmart will terminate health care coverage for employees who work less than 30 hours a week, anticipating that they will enroll in plans offered through the ACA’s health insurance exchanges. A sizable number of Walmart employees reportedly are eligible for and receive food stamps. Walmart is making money ”“ billions of dollars, in fact, every year, with its low prices, but at the expense of its workers and the taxpayers of this country.
The Bangor Daily News reported on July 9, 2013, that Gov. Paul LePage vetoed a bill that would have incrementally raised the state’s minimum wage from the current $7.50 per hour to $9 an hour by 2016, followed by annual increases tied to inflation.
The Minimum Wage Bill, LD 611 (HP 430), was passed by the Maine House of Representatives on March 28, 2013; passed by the Maine Senate on April 3, 2013; and vetoed by the Governor on July 8, 2013. The House failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to overturn the veto on July 9, 2013, so the veto was sustained.
At the time of the veto, Gov. LePage was quoted as saying that the state should “create an environment for well-paying careers to give hardworking families an opportunity to succeed.” In his veto letter in 2013, he wrote that “Maine should focus on creating better jobs rather than improving its lowest-paying jobs.”
With the Maine Senate now dominated by Republicans, the call for an increase in the minimum wage is not likely to happen anytime soon. Perhaps a ballot initiative ”“ as placed on ballots by the citizens of Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota, who chose to increase their state’s minimum wages on Nov. 4, while voters in San Francisco opted to start paying workers $15.00 per hour ”“ would be the answer for Maine, too.
According to the November issue of Time Magazine, last Election Day, voters in Alaska endorsed a minimum wage increase to $9.75 by 2016; in Arkansas, voters endorsed a minimum wage increase to $8.50 by 2017; voters in Nebraska endorsed a minimum wage increase to $9 by 2016; and voters in South Dakota endorsed a minimum wage increase to $8.50 an hour by 2015. The increase in the city of San Francisco will be phased in over time, reaching $15 by 2018.
Currently, the Portland City Council is considering whether or not to raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour in the city, with incremental increases in the coming years. The pros and cons have been presented from both sides. For all the naysayers that believe that an increase in the minimum wage would drive away present and potential business from this state, there are those who believe that an increase in the people’s purchasing power would improve the state’s stagnant economy.
While we are waiting for the $20- to $25-per-hour jobs to materialize in the State of Maine, it would be nice if people were able to earn a living wage. One factor that is missing in all of this is that in order to fill these oftentimes technical, high-paying jobs, one usually has to have an education. Something that is expensive and sometimes difficult to acquire, especially while raising a family and living on minimum wage. Many people are working two or three jobs and putting in 50 to 60 hours a week ”“ or more ”“ just to survive, which doesn’t leave a lot of time for online classes, let alone sitting in a classroom. Nine dollars an hour does not sound unreasonable. This is not Seattle, Washington, after all, where the minimum wage was raised to $15 an hour while the State of Washington has a minimum wage of $9.32 an hour.
WCSH6 News in Portland reported Dec. 15 that a new Maine Development Foundation report found that the quality of Maine’s workforce needs to improve in order for the state’s economy to remain strong into the future.
As we look to the new year, perhaps the solution to the issue of the minimum wage in Maine is to let the people, not the politicians, decide this important issue with a statewide ballot initiative as has been successfully passed in a number of other states. A statewide ballot initiative would be a worthy cause for a civic-minded group to support by gathering signatures and placing it on the ballot. At least 10 percent of the total number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election ”“ which at last count was 57,277 valid signatures of registered voters collected over 18 months ”“ are required for an initiative to be valid. My guess is that there would be no lack of signatures, and the many citizens of this state struggling to make ends meet would give a minimum wage ballot initiative a good chance of passing. Let the people decide.
— Val Philbrick works in the production department of the Journal Tribune as a pre-press person. She is a member of PETA and the Humane Society of the United States.
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