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How Democrats’ “Better Deal” leaves American workers worse off
July 2017 · Michael Saltsman · The Hill
Congressional Democrats’ new “Better Deal” might be a poll-tested marketing slogan, but the policies behind it will leave many Americans worse off. Need proof? Consider the centerpiece of Democrats’ wage-raising package: A 107 percent increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 — double the inflation-adjusted historical minimum wage of $7.40. This component of the plan mirrors Senator Bernie Sanders’ “Raise the Wage Act,” and also includes an unprecedented… -
Labor’s minimum wage loophole leaves its members behind
July 2017 · Michael Saltsman · Orange County Register
Santa Monica’s yearly minimum wage increase went into effect on July 1 and reached as high as $15.66 per hour for hotel workers. But at least one group of employees didn’t feel the benefit: Hotel employees represented by UNITE HERE Local 11. This isn’t a quirk in the city’s minimum wage law, but rather an intentional omission designed to grease the proverbial skids of Local 11’s organizing… -
The Minimum Wage Debate Gets Its Biggest Scandal In Years
June 2017 · Michael Saltsman · Forbes
What did Seattle Mayor Ed Murray know, and when did he know it? That’s the question that commentators of all political persuasions are asking, after Seattle Weekly confirmed a suspicion raised by this column: That the Mayor’s office deliberately sought to undermine a new University of Washington (UW) report on the city’s minimum wage experiment by seeking out a different report that was guaranteed to reach a positive conclusion. Here’s the order of events, as established by Seattle Weekly: To review,… -
New Report Marks The Beginning Of The End For ‘Fight For $15’
June 2017 · Michael Saltsman · Forbes
What a difference a week makes. Last week, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray trumpeted a new report on his city’s minimum wage experiment, from a team of researchers sympathetic to the cause. As I wrote at the time, the Mayor’s request of this report was unusual, given that the city had already funded a separate University of Washington study. Today, the reason for the Mayor’s actions is clearer: A… -
Capitol Hill’s hypocrisy on intern pay
June 2017 · Michael Saltsman · The Hill
It’s intern season in the nation’s capital, where hundreds of young adults decamp to D.C. for the summer to learn the legislative process. Who knew they’d also get an object lesson in Capitol Hill hypocrisy? The recently-introduced Raise the Wage Act of 2017 would increase the federal minimum wage by 107 percent, to $15 an hour from $7.25. A new Employment Policies Institute analysis shows that 95 percent of the… -
The Problems With A New Study On Seattle’s $15 Minimum Wage
June 2017 · Michael Saltsman · Forbes
The headlines were ebullient: “Minimum Wage Increase Hasn’t Killed Jobs in Seattle.” So said a report from a team of researchers affiliated with the University of California-Berkeley, timed for the three-year anniversary of the law. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray conveniently had an infographic designed and ready to go for the study’s release. His office excitedly tweeted that the policy had “raised food workers’ pay, without negative impact on employment,” linking to an uploaded study…