ACORN Canada | Uniting Communities for Justice

Vancouver Observer: IGA locks workers out

Workers at the IGA store in downtown Vancouver on Burrard and Smithe street were behind picket lines on Friday after their employer served them with a lockout notice. About a dozen workers were standing oustide the store on Friday afternoon, holding signs and passing out pamphlets to people passing by.

The workers are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union, Local 1518, and picket lines will go up effective 12:00am Friday after attempts to land an agreement with the assistance of a mediator failed on July 27.

"That's the key issue -- we want to at least get on the road to earning a living wage," said Andy Neufeld, director of communications for UFCW 1518. He said that wages are low "right across the board" regardless of seniority or hours.

Although specific wages would not be discussed due to the fact that the negotiations were ongoing, a worker at the lockout said that most employees were earning "under $1,000 a month" and being kept at part-time hours.

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New Brunswick Business Journal: Hike would not cut jobs, economists say in letter

A public letter signed by six Nobel laureates and 650 United States economists suggests that raising the minimum wage does not cause job losses - contradicting the provincial government decision to delay hiking the minimum wage in New Brunswick.

The province's Community Action Group on Homelessness has put forward the document in efforts to sway the provincial government on what has become a polarizing debate between small business owners and the working class.

New Brunswick's lowest wage earners were promised a 50-cent increase to the minimum wage this September, but the Progressive Conservative government announced last week that it would delay the scheduled increase.

Premier David Alward said his government is saving jobs by not raising New Brunswick's minimum wage.

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NYT Blog: A New York City 'Living Wage'

New York City spends more than $2 billion a year on efforts to promote economic development, but the benefits flow more to developers than to workers. Why not follow the example of some other big cities, including Los Angeles, and require large city-subsidized projects to pay a “living wage”?

I happened to be in New York on May 12, when the City Council held public hearings on proposed legislation along these lines, requiring recipients of more than $100,000 in financial assistance to pay all their employees either $10 an hour plus health benefits or $11.50 a hour without benefits.

Mayor Bloomberg opposes the legislation and questions whether the City Council has the authority to legislate wage standards.

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City of Esquimalt Adopts Living Wage Policy

Below is a news release from the City of Esquimalt on the adoption of a living wage policy.

Living Wage Policy: Council Requests Written Feedback
December 17, 2010

On December 13, 2010 Esquimalt Council, at a Committee of the Whole meeting, voted to support the full implementation of a complete Living Wage Policy and Program for the Township’s operations.

A Living Wage is a term used to describe the minimum hourly wage necessary for a family of four with two parents working full-time to pay for food and shelter, support the healthy development of their children, escape financial stress, and participate in their communities. A Living Wage is different than a minimum wage in that it is not legally mandated.

Living Wage policies have been passed in many American cities and interest is growing in Canada. The Living Wage for Victoria—which is referred to as an “affordability index” —is set by the Community Social Planning Council. The Living Wage for Metro Victoria as of 2010 is $17.31 per hour.

 

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Georgia Straight: Surrey council should do the right thing and endorse living wage

The time has come for Surrey to follow the lead of New Westminster and endorse a living wage policy.

A “living wage” is meant to reflect the actual income required for a two-earner, two-child household to live above the poverty line. Adopted at the civic level, it would apply to anyone working for the city. As most city staff are all already above this level, the policy is aimed at independent contractors working for the city.

The living wage policy passed unanimously by New Westminster council last year will see workers paid at least $16.74 per hour. Last month, Esquimalt passed a similar policy, and the municipalities of Cowichan, Williams Lake, and Cranbrook are considering it.

Living wage policies are currently being advocated for by ACORN Canada, the B.C. Federation of Labour, and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the latter having recently calculated that a living wage for families is $18.17 an hour in Vancouver and $17.30 in Victoria.

If Surrey were to do the right thing and endorse such a policy, it would not be the first time.

In 1993, Surrey Civic Electors councillor Gary Robinson and then-mayor Bob Bose were successful in implementing a living wage for the city. At the time, Robinson explained that contractors providing flag services for the city were paying substandard wages to their employees, the majority of whom were women.

 

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