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Moderating the harm from a higher minimum wage
May 2016 · Michael Saltsman · The Hill
Voters in several states, including Colorado, Washington, and Arizona, may face dramatic and irresponsible minimum wage initiatives on their ballots this fall. Understandably, the business community in these states and elsewhere has attempted to moderate the damage with competing proposals of their own. Labor union-backed groups like the National Employment Law Project have feigned outrage at these efforts, writing most recently in Newsweek that they are “deceptive,”… -
Minimum wage increase is barrier to entering the workforce
May 2016 · Michael Saltsman · Daily Herald
Last week, McDonald’s corporate headquarters in Oak Brook was inundated with protesters bused in by the Service Employees International Union, which is in the midst of a $70 million-plus campaign to unionize the fast food industry. Thus far, the union’s campaign has failed to yield a windfall of new dues-paying members. It has, however, inspired cities like Chicago to foolishly embrace a minimum wage beyond any historical… -
The Union Minimum Wage Windfall: California’s $15 hourly rate will put money in labor’s pockets, no collective bargaining required.
May 2016 · Michael Saltsman · Wall Street Journal
When Gov. Jerry Brown signed California’s $15-an-hour minimum wage into law in April—it will rise to that figure by 2022-23 from $10 today—he wasn’t merely advancing organized labor’s political agenda. He was giving its members a substantial pay raise, no collective bargaining required. This sort of direct union pay benefit from a minimum-wage hike is unusual. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that the median weekly earnings… -
SF worker scheduling law has resulted in job cutbacks
May 2016 · Michael Saltsman · San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco prides itself on being a city of firsts. The political benefits of being first are self-evident, but the economic drawbacks can also be significant. A new evaluation of the city’sFormula Retail Employee Rights Ordinance suggests it may join the city’s other firsts as a lesson in unintended consequences. San Francisco was the first city to require private employers to provide for all employees’ paid sick… -
A $15 minimum wage proving not all gain with no pain
May 2016 · Michael Saltsman · OC Register
The Supreme Court recently rejected a legal challenge to Seattle’s $15 minimum wage, but the jury’s still out on the law’s job market impact. David Rolf, president of Washington state’s powerful SEIU Local 775 and an architect of the “Fight for $15,” isn’t willing to wait. He’s been speaking on the East and West Coasts to promote his new book that shares the name of the wage… -
CBO report warns of upcoming jobs crisis
May 2016 · Michael Saltsman · Delaware News Journal
Nearly one in six American men between the ages of 18 and 34 is jobless or incarcerated, up from about one in ten in 1980. The story is even worse for less educated and black men, among whom nearly one in three young black men is jobless or incarcerated. These are the startling findings from a new Congressional Budget Office report released last week, which provide a…