Portside

Analysis: With $15 minimum wage campaign gaining political traction, the labor coalition Alliance for a Just Society says workers need more for a living wage

The conditions of employment for domestic workers vary from house to house, but along with miners, domestic workers have long endured one of the most exploitative employment relationships in South Africa’s history. Although a new minimum wage is more than domestic workers have ever earned, it is still not enough -- what is needed is a living wage.

The University of California, New York State, and Washington, DC move to increase the minimum wage. This continues a trend that is taking place across the country.

Many workers are not only fighting for the $15 an hour and a union that first drew them to the campaign. They’re fighting for a better world. They see their actions as re-directing the course of history, as building a future for their children and grandchildren, and as helping workers not only in other fast food outlets but also in many other jobs and industries.

The still fledgling campaign focuses on organizing to raise wages and delays question of union structure. No one seems sure about the shape of a fast-food union. Many formations are possible. Since wages and other employment laws differ by city and state, one could envision local or regional contracts that establish a basic compensation structure, benefits and freedom from arbitrary firing. A more ambitious version would be national in scope: a framework agreement...