Portside

I see a nation where 63 percent of workers live paycheck to paycheck — paycheck to paycheck. What does that mean? It means that every day you are living under incredible stress — scared to death that if your car breaks down, if your kid gets sick, if your landlord raises the rent, if you get divorced or separated, if you become pregnant, if for whatever reason you lose your job, you will find yourself in the midst of a financial catastrophe.

For the “typical” or median worker, declining unionization over the last four decades translates to a loss of $1.56 per hour worked, the equivalent of $3,250 for a full-time, full-year worker.

Since Hispanic women continue to be over-represented in low-wage jobs, policies that lift wages at the bottom will have a significant impact on their wages. A Federal minimum wage increase to $15 would affect nearly one in three Latina workers.

Economic justice activists are championing laws that shift the costs of toxic poverty wages from communities to corporations.

How the minimum wage hurts us all. Is $15 an Hour a Realistic Goal for Fast-Food Workers? -- Even the Wall Stree Journal says YES -- If all workers earned at least $15 an hour, there would be a ripple effect through hundreds of occupations.

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