We've got our signatures!

We are pleased to announce that our Committee has successfully completed the campaign to obtain the required 5,000+ signatures of registered voters. These voters want the Greensboro City Council to increase the minimum wage in Greensboro to $9.36 per hour. We will deliver our petition signatures to the Board of Elections at 12:30 PM, November 30, 2007. The campaign to gain approval of our initiative will began immediately thereafter on the front steps of the old courthouse.

In the richest society in human history the failure to pay just wages is not an economic issue. Wages are a moral issue. Tens of thousands of our neighbors in Greensboro are suffering from poverty wages. It is time to correct this injustice. The minimum wage is a floor for wages. It is the point where society says no to lower wages. To pay a lower wage is wrong. It is immoral just as child labor is immoral. People are not machines. They must have enough to sustain themselves.

The Federal Government’s own research shows that the minimum wage would need to be $9.58 per/hr to equal its purchasing power in 1968. Business can afford to pay its workers at least as much as they were paid 38 years ago. Inflation has hidden actual pay cuts for millions of hard working Americans. Minimum wage workers in 1968 could buy 35% more food, clothing and shelter than the minimum wage workers of today.

The trend towards paying working people less is accelerating. On October 23, 2006 the News & Record reported that the real inflation adjusted median household income in Greensboro fell from $46,459 to $36,733 over the last five years. The typical Greensboro family income has dropped 21%.

The Golden Rule - the ethics of reciprocity - is our most universal moral value. It is a fundamental moral principal in all of the world’s major religions. If I want decent pay for myself, I should want it for my neighbor.

We say it is wrong to pay people a minimum wage that is not enough for them to live on. What do you think?

Citizen groups have already made this happen in other cities. The minimum wage for all workers in San Francisco is $9.14 per/hr and in Santa Fe, New Mexico it is $9.50 per/hr. It is past time for this conversation to start in Greensboro. If you want to help call us at 336-681-2890.

Business leaders from all states support a higher minimum wage

Business leaders from all over the country have joined together to fight for higher minimum wages. When the federal wage hike took place in July of this year, a group called Business for a Fair Minimum Wage released a statement that included the following language:

"Higher wages benefit business by increasing consumer purchasing power, reducing costly employee turnover, raising productivity, and improving product quality, customer satisfaction and company reputation. A fair minimum wage shows we value both work and responsible businesses. A fair minimum wage is a sound investment in the future of our communities and our nation."

To read more, go here.

More input from Santa Fe

Thanks to Jim Boyett, co-chair of the Greensboro Minimum Wage Campaign, for pointing me to a wealth of information on the campaign for a living wage for all of Santa Fe's workers. Lots of interesting work there; here's a highlight from a column by Rebecca Wurzburger (Santa Fe City Councilwoman) and Buddy Roybal (Santa Fe small businessman):

Five years ago the two of us were both unsure of the potential impacts of Santa Fe's landmark living wage law. Although supportive of the wage in concept, as City Councilor I was uncomfortable with the fact that the proposed ordinance had no plan for evaluating its impact, particularly on smaller business. Similarly Buddy, a local business owner, was concerned about the unintended consequences of the law, particularly on young people and all local business. Today we both strongly support the proposed amendments to the living wage ordinance. They will extend coverage so that all workers in Santa Fe will earn a minimum of $9.50 per hour, not just those in businesses with 25 or more employees. This will mean that instead of covering only 60 percent of workers, the law will cover all of them. The amendments also include an automatic annual cost of living increase starting in 2009, so that inflation does not erode the value of the $9.50 minimum wage. We are not alone in our support of these proposed changes . . . By passing the amendments, with no other changes, the City Council will be respecting an historic agreement forged by this community. That, in turn, will encourage greater efforts at community consensus building on other difficult and divisive issues.

Here's hoping we'll see similar articles in Greensboro in five years. Given that yesterday was the 28th anniversary of the 1979 shootings in Morningside Homes (more information on that than you probably want can be found here), I think the last sentence holds a particularly high level of meaning for us.