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Living Wage Campaign: Every Worker Deserves a Home
It shouldn't be a novel concept, the idea that people working 40 hours a week ought to be able to afford basic housing.
Yet fulltime, minimum-wage workers are among an estimated 3.5 million people in the United States, many of them single mothers and their children, who will experience homelessness this year. A friend's spare couch or a seedy motel may provide a temporary roof over their head but they have no permanent address.
The Universal Living Wage Campaign is determined to change that. Endorsed by delegates to last year's CWA convention and more than 800 other unions, churches, non-profit groups and even some businesses, the campaign is pushing to raise minimum wages in cities nationwide to levels that would allow workers to have a place to call home, without government aid.
"We have devised a national formula based on each local economy throughout the country," campaign Chairman Richard Troxell said. "The formula is designed in such a manner that no matter whether you are in Austin, Boston or Los Angeles, if you're willing and able to work a 40-hour week, you should at least be able to access the cheapest form of housing."
CWA members in Santa Fe recently helped pass a landmark living wage there, after two years of coalition-building. Though businesses fought it, the City Council ultimately voted 7-1 to approve the $8.50-an-hour rate.
"We started with labor people and expanded to a grassroots base - religious groups, social justice groups, the Green Party, the Democratic Party, the list goes on and on," said Robin Gould, past president of CWA Local 7037.
Gould said labor has worked hard to elect progressive people to the city council, which was critical to passing the living wage. Council members include David Coss, another past president of Local 7037 and a leader of an earlier living wage campaign in Santa Fe.
The formula promoted by the Universal Living Wage Campaign is based on the fair market rent standard set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and by the HUD guideline, used by banks when deciding loans, that no more than 30 percent of a person's gross income should go to housing.
In Austin, Texas, for instance, where the campaign is based, renting a studio apartment would require a worker to earn $10.60 an hour; a one-bedroom apartment for a mother and children requires an income of $12.83 an hour.
Wage levels are far lower in some areas and higher in others. In Billings, Mt., $6.65 an hour will cover a $346-a-month studio; in Little Rock, Ark., a comparable apartment would require $7.60 an hour; in New York City, the hourly figure jumps to $15.10. A list of sample cities, apartment prices and wages is available on the campaign's website.
The campaign is a project of House the Homeless Inc., an all-volunteer organization with a majority of homeless or formerly homeless people on its board.
"We believe that a large portion of the tax burden for public assistance programs can be drastically reduced," Troxell said. "It can be done if minimum-wage employers would stop hiding behind the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour and simply pay a fair living wage indexed to the local cost of housing.
At 40 hours per week, the federal minimum works out to $9,880 a year, which is lower than the federal poverty guideline for a single person. Although some states have raised their minimum wage and many businesses opt to pay a dollar or two more an hour, it rarely equals a living wage.
The campaign is pushing for federal legislation to fix the federal minimum wage, basing it on the universal living wage formula. As the HUD guidelines for fair market rent change, so would the living wage, ending the perennial battle over raising the minimum wage. "Congress wouldn't have to grapple with this political football anymore," Troxell said.
While many businesses are fighting fair wages, Troxell said some have signed on to the campaign. The Clip Joint, a hair salon in Austin, Texas, recently became the 800th booster. Owner Valerie Romnes said she's always believed in paying her employees a living wage. "It's just the right thing to do and it makes better workers," she said.
In Santa Fe, some business owners are going to court to try to kill the living wage. Gould said that wasn't unexpected, but it makes her angry that opponents paint a "doom and gloom" scenario for business if the living wage stands.
"This isn't about 'mom and pop' businesses," she said. "It's people who are making a lot of money off the backs of workers, the ones who might have to give up the third house in Aspen or their fourth Hummer. They're the ones who are crying the loudest."
Learn more and sign a living wage petition at www.UniversalLivingWage.org. The site also has a resolution that union locals and other groups can endorse and submit to promote living wages around the country.
Yet fulltime, minimum-wage workers are among an estimated 3.5 million people in the United States, many of them single mothers and their children, who will experience homelessness this year. A friend's spare couch or a seedy motel may provide a temporary roof over their head but they have no permanent address.
The Universal Living Wage Campaign is determined to change that. Endorsed by delegates to last year's CWA convention and more than 800 other unions, churches, non-profit groups and even some businesses, the campaign is pushing to raise minimum wages in cities nationwide to levels that would allow workers to have a place to call home, without government aid.
"We have devised a national formula based on each local economy throughout the country," campaign Chairman Richard Troxell said. "The formula is designed in such a manner that no matter whether you are in Austin, Boston or Los Angeles, if you're willing and able to work a 40-hour week, you should at least be able to access the cheapest form of housing."
CWA members in Santa Fe recently helped pass a landmark living wage there, after two years of coalition-building. Though businesses fought it, the City Council ultimately voted 7-1 to approve the $8.50-an-hour rate.
"We started with labor people and expanded to a grassroots base - religious groups, social justice groups, the Green Party, the Democratic Party, the list goes on and on," said Robin Gould, past president of CWA Local 7037.
Gould said labor has worked hard to elect progressive people to the city council, which was critical to passing the living wage. Council members include David Coss, another past president of Local 7037 and a leader of an earlier living wage campaign in Santa Fe.
The formula promoted by the Universal Living Wage Campaign is based on the fair market rent standard set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and by the HUD guideline, used by banks when deciding loans, that no more than 30 percent of a person's gross income should go to housing.
In Austin, Texas, for instance, where the campaign is based, renting a studio apartment would require a worker to earn $10.60 an hour; a one-bedroom apartment for a mother and children requires an income of $12.83 an hour.
Wage levels are far lower in some areas and higher in others. In Billings, Mt., $6.65 an hour will cover a $346-a-month studio; in Little Rock, Ark., a comparable apartment would require $7.60 an hour; in New York City, the hourly figure jumps to $15.10. A list of sample cities, apartment prices and wages is available on the campaign's website.
The campaign is a project of House the Homeless Inc., an all-volunteer organization with a majority of homeless or formerly homeless people on its board.
"We believe that a large portion of the tax burden for public assistance programs can be drastically reduced," Troxell said. "It can be done if minimum-wage employers would stop hiding behind the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour and simply pay a fair living wage indexed to the local cost of housing.
At 40 hours per week, the federal minimum works out to $9,880 a year, which is lower than the federal poverty guideline for a single person. Although some states have raised their minimum wage and many businesses opt to pay a dollar or two more an hour, it rarely equals a living wage.
The campaign is pushing for federal legislation to fix the federal minimum wage, basing it on the universal living wage formula. As the HUD guidelines for fair market rent change, so would the living wage, ending the perennial battle over raising the minimum wage. "Congress wouldn't have to grapple with this political football anymore," Troxell said.
While many businesses are fighting fair wages, Troxell said some have signed on to the campaign. The Clip Joint, a hair salon in Austin, Texas, recently became the 800th booster. Owner Valerie Romnes said she's always believed in paying her employees a living wage. "It's just the right thing to do and it makes better workers," she said.
In Santa Fe, some business owners are going to court to try to kill the living wage. Gould said that wasn't unexpected, but it makes her angry that opponents paint a "doom and gloom" scenario for business if the living wage stands.
"This isn't about 'mom and pop' businesses," she said. "It's people who are making a lot of money off the backs of workers, the ones who might have to give up the third house in Aspen or their fourth Hummer. They're the ones who are crying the loudest."
Learn more and sign a living wage petition at www.UniversalLivingWage.org. The site also has a resolution that union locals and other groups can endorse and submit to promote living wages around the country.