The crisis of low-wage jobs and a solution for Cook County There’s a crisis of low-wage jobs in our communities. More and more people are being paid poverty wages, while the companies that employ them make record profits. Meanwhile, the public services that low-wage workers depend on are constantly at risk of budget cuts because those same large companies aren’t paying their fair share in taxes. This presentation will give you some information on the crisis of low-wage jobs and a solution, the Cook County Responsible Business Act.

Purshasing power of the minimum wage has plummeted since the 60’s We all know that the minimum wage doesn’t actually pay enough to live on, and it hasn’t kept pace with inflation. But how low has it gone? This graph shows just how much the minimum wage’s real purchasing power has gone down since the 1960’s.

African American and Latino workers are disproportionately targeted by low-wage jobs. This is a racial justice issue. More than 54% of African American workers and 59% of Latino workers are paid less than $15 an hour, compares with 36% of white workers. Meanwhile, of course, the CEO’s and top executives of these companies are almost entirely white.

Violence in Chicago is directly related to poverty. The poverty caused by low wages doesn’t just impact the workers who are paid poverty wages – it impacts the whole community. Violence for instance - at the end of the day, the thing that is most closely connected with violence is poverty. This chart shows the connection in Chicago between violence and poverty. The darker red neighborhoods are neighborhoods with higher rates of poverty. The larger circles indicate the neighborhoods with higher homicide rates. This doesn't come as a surprise. When people are excluded from decent jobs doing things that are legal, they turn to the underground economy to support themselves. When people are desperate and don't see any hope, they do desperate things. But looking clearly at this problem suggests that the first question as we think about how to address the problem of violence is to look at the causes of the poverty that causes violence.

Large companies depend on public assistance programs like food stamps and Medicaid to support their employees. The companies paying these low wages depend on public assistance programs to enable their employees to make ends meet, because $8 or $10 an hour certainly does not pay the bills. So McDonalds costs taxpayers $1.2 billion dollars a year in public assistance provided to employees, and an average worker at Walmart receives between $3,000 and $6,000 per year in public services, while the Walton family has more wealth than 42% of Americans put together. So that means taxpayers are putting money directly into the bank accounts of these large corporations by paying for the employment costs that they refuse to pay.

And this isn’t an accident And this isn’t an accident. It’s an example of the same trends that have been happening throughout our economy over the past forty years, which have made the rich richer and the poor poorer. The last 40 years have been the period of greatest wealth accumulation by the top 1% in the history of the United States. And when I say the top 1%, here in Illinois that means people who are making at least $498,000 per year. That top line shows the growth in income by the top 1%. The flat lines at the bottom are the rest of us.

Solution: the Responsible Business Act Large corporations with more than 750 employees in Cook County would have to pay workers a living wage of $15 an hour or pay a fee to the County to enable the County to provide public services like health care and housing assistance. This would incentivize employers to raise wages, and it would bring in revenue for the County to provide the public services that low-wage workers depend on. It would also help address the County’s $174 million budget deficit without raising sales taxes again, a tax that disproportionately hits low-income and working people. The People’s Lobby is organizing for a Cook County ordinance that would address this crisis: the Responsible Business Act. Large corporations with more than 750 employees in Cook County would have to pay workers a living wage of $15 an hour or pay a fee to the County to enable the County to provide public services like health care and housing assistance. This would incentivize employers to raise wages, and it would bring in revenue for the County to provide the public services that low-wage workers depend on. It would also help address the County’s $174 million budget deficit without raising sales taxes again, a tax that disproportionately hits low-income and working people.

What you can do: write a letter to your County Commissioner What you can do: write a letter to your County Commissioner! Here’s a model – please add add your own experiences and opinions. Dear Commissioner _____________: I am a member of __________[church] and a registered voter at __________[address], and I am writing to urge you to support the Responsible Business Act. Too many people in our community are working at low-wage jobs that do not pay enough for people to support their families. When the low-wage employer is a large and profitable corporation like Walmart or McDonalds, it adds insult to injury. Large low-wage employers must be called on to pay workers a living wage of $15 an hour and to pay their fair share to support Cook County services like housing and health care that allow low-wage workers to make ends meet. Sincerely, [Your name]

Come out to make your voice heard Come out to make your voice heard! Next Cook County Board meeting: Wednesday, September 14 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Cook County Building, 118 N. Clark.