1. LIVING WAGES Stephanie Luce, City University of New York November 9, 2013 Santa Rosa, CA

2. Tough Times for Workers 28% of workers earn poverty level wages Almost 38 million people 55 million people are earning wages below 125% of the federal poverty line For a worker with two kids, that would be $11.50 an hour

3. Who are Low-Wage Workers? Average low wage worker is in their 30s Majority have completed at least some college Have been in their job at least a few years Most are making a significant contribution to household income Most live in families earning less than $40,000 a year Disproportionately women and people of color

4. Los Angeles Airport A study of workers covered by living wage at LAX found: 86% of covered workers work full-time 58% of workers were 35 years old or older On average, 20 years in the workforce

5. “We make it, they take it” Wages and productivity, 1947-2011

6. Corporate Profits Soar

7. Living Wage Movement Over 125 city and county ordinances since 1994 Wages range quite a bit, and often give a rate with health care, or more without Indexed to inflation Petaluma, CA: $13.31 or $14.93 Santa Barbara, CA: $12.88 or $16.39 Santa Cruz County, CA: $14.79 or $16.13 Philadelphia, PA: $10.88

8. Additional Provisions Paid and unpaid sick days Local hiring Worker retention Responsible bidder/contractor Protection from retaliation Card check/neutrality Union opt-out Full-time hours

9. Outcomes 333,000 workers directly impacted 666,000 indirectly impacted Estimated over 1 billion in wage increases Dozens of new union organizing or assisted in union contract negotiations Discourages outsourcing

10. Research Shows Wage increases make a significant impact on workers lives (in Boston, a 60% increase in annual income) Employers report lower turnover Some employers convert part-time to full- time jobs No job loss No harm to local business climate

11. Not all Positive Wages are still below *real* living wage for many No guarantee of minimum hours Implementation poor in some places Few workers covered, relative to 38 million working poor

12. Are they worth the effort? Wage gains are relevant to those impacted Challenge “austerity” model of governance Assists unionization Builds coalitions Education about low wages, poverty Groundwork for other efforts, such as paid sick days, community benefits agreements

13. Moving Forward Citywide minimum wage Living wage zones – LAX hotels, Long Beach CA “Big Box” and other economic development– Chicago, D.C., New York Airports Arbitration State level – living wage, minimum wage, EITC, COLAs