{"id":10184,"date":"2014-06-03T10:22:55","date_gmt":"2014-06-03T14:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/?p=10184"},"modified":"2014-06-03T10:22:55","modified_gmt":"2014-06-03T14:22:55","slug":"in-canton-glens-falls-watertown-or-saranac-lake-whats-a-fair-wage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/2014\/06\/03\/in-canton-glens-falls-watertown-or-saranac-lake-whats-a-fair-wage\/","title":{"rendered":"In Canton, Glens Falls, Watertown or Saranac Lake, what&#8217;s a fair wage?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_10191\" style=\"width: 591px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/files\/2014\/06\/Imworking2a.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10191\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-10191 \" alt=\"&quot;I'm working.&quot; Photo: Akane Yamada, some rights reserved.\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/files\/2014\/06\/Imworking2a.jpg\" width=\"581\" height=\"546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/files\/2014\/06\/Imworking2a.jpg 726w, https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/files\/2014\/06\/Imworking2a-300x282.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 581px) 100vw, 581px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10191\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Couldn&#8217;t resist this one: &#8220;I&#8217;m working.&#8221; Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/77566526@N00\/3655887487\/in\/photolist-6z4nYT-7JCDix-dWjWR-6ahKed-4QgLd6-dbAvXG-5buFea-4G2a6K-nrKJQa-2CAXq-7456AG-5FMTuT-ggJAGB-9NXT-8BoBR-7PFWtH-4vXpCv-6rQt1E-742ba6-6z8tBd-nrbZgK-kFo9X2-8FFzkU-9id91C-7455UG-d2m3x-dMsGZ2-3WSvX-dbAvSy-dbAu2a-dbAvHf-5daYH6-6ro9Eo-epSwA-86XgjR-8BoFm-9EVFDj-mp2Ns4-kuyJ6n-bhBkGz-biYfe-ioKtiZ-dbAu4k-7SULYU-6rTurs-2MwBsB-kkuWiR-4XuSdV-diNpnE-pzLYM-JvWH\">Akane Yamada<\/a>, some rights reserved.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>News<a href=\"http:\/\/seattletimes.com\/html\/localnews\/2023753163_wagevotexml.html\"> flash out of Seattle<\/a>: the minimum wage has just been raised to $15\/hour, by far the highest in the country. Indeed, it&#8217;s double or more the rate in Arkansas ($6.25) and about half the states,\u00a0 almost triple the rate in Georgia and Wyoming ($5.15), and five states (including Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana) have no minimum wage guidelines.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a summary provided at the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncsl.org\/research\/labor-and-employment\/state-minimum-wage-chart.aspx\"> website of the National Council of State Legislatures<\/a> as of May 2014:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>38 states have considered minimum wage bills during the 2014 session; 34 states are considering\u00a0increases to the state minimum wage.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cga.ct.gov\/2014\/ACT\/PA\/2014PA-00001-R00SB-00032-PA.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Connecticut<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/legis.delaware.gov\/LIS\/lis147.nsf\/EngrossmentsforLookup\/SB+6\/$file\/Engross.html?open\" target=\"_blank\">Delaware<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.hawaii.gov\/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&amp;billnumber=2609&amp;year=2014\" target=\"_blank\">Hawaii, <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/mgaleg.maryland.gov\/2014RS\/bills\/hb\/hb0295E.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Maryland<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.legislature.mi.gov\/documents\/2013-2014\/publicact\/htm\/2014-PA-0138.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Michigan<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/wdoc.house.leg.state.mn.us\/leg\/LS88\/HF2091.1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Minnesota<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.legis.state.wv.us\/Bill_Status\/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb201%20ENR.htm&amp;yr=2014&amp;sesstype=2X&amp;i=201\" target=\"_blank\">West Virginia<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dcejc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Minimum-Wage-Amendment-Act.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">D.C.<\/a> have enacted increases so far in 2014.<\/li>\n<li>As of May 28, the legislature in\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.leg.state.vt.us\/database\/status\/summary.cfm?Bill=H.0552&amp;Session=2014\" target=\"_blank\">Vermont <\/a>passed an increase but\u00a0the bill is awaiting action by the Vermont governor.<\/li>\n<li>As of June 1, 22 states and D.C.\u00a0have minimum wages above the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dol.gov\/whd\/minimumwage.htm\" target=\"_blank\">federal minimum wage<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>19 states, Guam, and the Virgin Islands have minimum wages the same as the federal minimum wage of $7.25.<\/li>\n<li>4 states, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico have minimum wages below the federal minimum wage (the federal minimum thus applies).<\/li>\n<li>1 state, New Hampshire, repealed their state minimum wage in 2011, but left the reference to the federal minimum wage.<\/li>\n<li>5 states have not established a\u00a0state minimum wage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote>\n<div id=\"attachment_10185\" style=\"width: 369px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/files\/2014\/06\/minimumwageglobal.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10185\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10185 \" alt=\"Minimum wage rates\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/files\/2014\/06\/minimumwageglobal.jpg\" width=\"359\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/files\/2014\/06\/minimumwageglobal.jpg 359w, https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/files\/2014\/06\/minimumwageglobal-215x300.jpg 215w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 359px) 100vw, 359px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10185\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Minimum wage rates<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n<p>New York State has passed legislation that raised the minimum wage to $8.00\/hour beginning December 31, 2013; going up to $8.75 December 31, 2014 and to $9.00 December 31, 2015. As of this spring New York City was considering raising the city&#8217;s rate to $15\/hour. Also under consideration, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.northcountrypublicradio.org\/news\/story\/25044\/20140603\/with-vow-from-cuomo-ny-democrats-seek-wage-hike\">a recommendation to increase<\/a> the statewide minimum wage to $10.10\/hour, leapfrogging over the current legislation. This proposal would permit localities to raise the minimum to as much as 30% more than the state minimum.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, Old Forge and Newcomb, Burlington and Plattsburgh are not Seattle&#8230;or New York City. With no local minimum wage guidelines, communities default to the state rate.<\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s fair? In the north country, should farm labor enjoy the benefits of a higher minimum wage? How about waiters and bartenders? When I was a teenager, my first waitressing job paid $.85\/hour because the assumption was that tips would fill in enough to give me a reasonable wage. Below minimum rates are still often the case for workers who rely on gratuities.<\/p>\n<p>Why a <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Minimum_wage\">minimum wage<\/a>? Some argue that we need a &#8220;living wage&#8221; rather than a minimum wage which can be too low to pay basic living expenses.<\/p>\n<p>The notion of a living wage is much more controversial than the minimum wage. Even the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Living_wage\">Wikipedia page on living wage<\/a> is filled with disagreement about the concept. But you get the idea: a living wage is conceived as a way to address the insufficiency of minimum wages to sustain a working family.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s the concept. You may or may not agree. Living wage? Robust minimum wage? No government legislation or even guidelines? Where do you stand on this one?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News flash out of Seattle: the minimum wage has just been raised to $15\/hour, by [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[1420,10,5701,14902,6142,20,23],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10184"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10184"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10199,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10184\/revisions\/10199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}