Let’s Leave Subminimum Wages in the Past

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Chair Friedman, Chair Peisch, and Members of the Committee:  

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts. We are a statewide, multi-issue, grassroots membership organization focused on fighting for policy that would make our Commonwealth more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic. 

We strongly support the elimination of subminimum wages, and passing ballot initiative NO. 23-12, An Act to require the full minimum wage for tipped workers with tips on top, would accomplish that.

We are appreciative of recent efforts by the Legislature to improve living standards for working people across the Commonwealth, but tipped workers have not been able to benefit fully from recent minimum wage increases. The tipped minimum wage in MA rose to $6.75 per hour last year as a result of the last increase. $6.75 per hour. A living wage in Massachusetts, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, is $27.89—just for a single, childless adult. That means a tipped worker would need to collect three times their wage in tips just to achieve a living wage.

Although employers are supposed to guarantee that workers get the full minimum wage with tips, this has never been common practice, and wage theft is rampant in the industry. The tiered wage system allows this to happen.

Moreover, sexual harassment remains widespread in the restaurant industry. As our country continues to grapple with the problem of sexual harassment and sexual assault across industries, we must face up to the fact that unequal wage systems create the breeding ground for such inappropriate and predatory behaviors.

The tiered wage system has its roots in the legacy of slavery and persists because of the way society views certain occupations – particularly those disproportionately held by women, people of color, and immigrants – as less deserving of good pay and benefits than others. Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington all already pay the full minimum wage. Massachusetts should join them.

Thank you for your work on this committee, and we urge you to do right by workers and advance this.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

Just In: What’s a Living Wage in Massachusetts?

MIT’s Living Wage Calculator analyzes the hourly rate that an individual must earn to support themselves and/or their family, working full-time, meeting basic needs like food, health care, housing, and transportation. 

They just updated it a few weeks ago, and the living wage for a single adult in Massachusetts now stands at $27.89. In households with children, the number is even higher. It’s clear that we have a cost-of-living crisis.

We can solve that in two ways: by bringing down costs or bringing up wages. And we need to do both. In 2018, Massachusetts set an example for other states and the country by passing a $15 minimum wage.

It’s time to raise the minimum wage again. Legislation filed this session (H.1925/S.1200) would raise the minimum wage to $20 per hour, bringing it much closer to a living wage.

Can you ask your state rep and state senator to co-sponsor and champion legislation to raise the minimum wage to $20?
Find out if your legislators are already co-sponsors here.

Massachusetts workers deserve better. Let’s make sure all workers receive a living wage. 

Op-Ed: A New Year’s resolution: Make Mass. affordable

Jonathan Cohn, “A New Year’s resolution: Make Mass. affordable,” CommonWealth, December 28, 2023.

Throughout 2023, we constantly heard elected officials talk about the need for tax cuts to make Massachusetts more “competitive,” pushing a debunked myth that we were about to see an exodus of the well-off due to the Fair Share Amendment and the overall tax landscape. The risk we really face is that our graduates won’t be able to stay here, that young couples won’t be able to make a family here, and that working people will be displaced from one neighborhood to the next before being driven out of the state entirely. All of this is avoidable with good policy.

So let’s hope – and pressure – our elected officials to embrace those policies. And to not give up on a New Year’s Resolution too soon.

MA House and Senate Vote to Strengthen State’s Equal Pay Law

Massachusetts was the first state in the US to pass an equal pay law, all the way back in 1945, and the Legislature updated it in 2016 to prohibit employers from asking job applicants for salary history, prohibit employers from banning discussion of wage information, and require equal pay for comparable work.

But gender- and race-based pay gaps continue to exist in the workplace, and the House and Senate have taken action to strengthen the equal pay in response.

The Frances Perkins Workplace Equity Act, named after the first female Secretary of Labor in the US, would require employers with 25+ employees to disclose the salary or wage range for a position in all job postings, provide the salary range to employees offered promotions and transfers, and provide the pay range to employees for their current roles if requested.

It would also require covered employers with 100 or more employees to supply wage and demographic information to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. You can’t fix the inequities you do not see.

Earlier this month, on October 4, the House voted 148 to 8 to pass this bill.

The 8 NOs were all Republicans: Donnie Berthiaume (R-Spencer), Nicholas Boldyga (R-Southwick), David DeCoste (R-Norwell), Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica), Kelly Pease (R-Westfield), Michael Soter (R-Bellingham), Alyson Sullivan-Almeida (R-Abington), and Steven Xiarhos (R-Barnstable).

Yesterday (October 19), the Senate voted 39 to 1 to pass the bill, with the sole NO being Republican Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton).

Why the UAW Strike Matters

UAW strike

By Enid Eckstein, JP Progressives

On September 14, United Automobile Workers took to the picket lines to begin their “Stand Up Strike.” The first week, workers struck a number of strategic profitable plants at the “Big 3” automakers: Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis. Over the next few weeks, the strike expanded to parts suppliers and other assembly plants. The idea is to increase pressure gradually and keep the companies guessing what is next. On September 21, Massachusetts Stellantis workers at the Mansfield facility joined the strike. Over 30,000 workers are now on the picket lines in 22 states. President Biden made history when he joined the UAW line in suburban Detroit, demonstrating his support to the striking workers.

It is not just our strike, it is a strike for social justice”, Shawn Fain, UAW President

During the 2007-2008 recession, the automakers were in trouble and facing bankruptcy. The Obama administration and the automakers pushed for major concessions. The UAW leadership agreed, and workers were forced to weaken pensions and retiree health benefits, give up cost of living adjustments, cut overtime pay, and agree to a multi-tier pay structure and temporary workers. Those hired after 2007 would be paid significantly less, and not receive the same pensions. As the employers hired more workers and began recovery, there were workers working side by side with radically different pay rates for performing the same work. One worker would receive $ 32/hour and another $19 for the same job. It would take a worker 8 years to reach the top of the scale, and many never make it since they are considered temporary workers, making even less an hour.  

In March 2023, UAW members voted in a historic direct election for the officers of their union, following a long fight for a more democratic union. A new leadership, led by Shawn Fain, took charge and immediately began to educate, organize, and mobilize workers in a contract campaign. Key demands for this contract campaign include the end of the temporary workers classification and the end of the multi-tier system. The workers want everything they gave up to be restored and to receive a significant pay increase to make up for the years of concessions. Union members sacrificed and lost income for the last 16 years while the companies made billions.

This is also a strike about the future of the auto industry and its transition to electric vehicles. The union is demanding job security—the right to strike over plant closings and for Electric Vehicle workers to be bought under the union’s three master agreements. As UAW President Shawn Fain says, this is about a “just transition”: ensuring that the transition to a green economy is one that lifts up workers, not leaves them behind. The union has also fought for a reduced work week. It was during the 1930s that the UAW won the five-day work week. Yes, the folks “that brought you the weekend” are once again fighting for a shorter work week.

A recent Gallup poll found that 75% of the public supports the UAW strike. Just as the Writers Guild and AFTRA/SAG strike were about more than wages, this strike is a strike against corporate greed and high CEO pay, and it is an effort to restore the American dream for auto workers. This is a fight for the future of American manufacturing workers.

The companies and CEOs raked in billions while the workers lost out

All three companies have been extremely profitable. In the first 6 months of this year, they took in $21 billion. Estimates are they made $32 billion in profits due to the concessions, yet workers lost 19% of their wages during the same period. Car prices rose by 35% over the last four years, so the companies are doing well as are the CEOs. Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, was paid $28.9 million last year. The CEOs of Stellantis and Ford each $24.8 Million and $21.0 million respectively. According to UAW President Shawn Fain, “a worker would have to work 400 years to equal a year of CEO pay.”

What you can do!

The Mansfield Stellantis Facility (550 Forbes Road) is a small facility, and the 60-some workers need your help and support. They maintain a 24-hour active picket line. So far, many unions have joined the picket line, providing needed bodies and moral support. Senators Warren and Markey have also joined the line. Special shout-out to State Senator Paul Feeney who has walked the line many nights and is working to build other support.

The picket line is lively since the company is moving supplies and trucks in and out.

Organize a group of friends or members of your chapter to take a trip to Mansfield. Talk to the workers on the picket line. They are very friendly and appreciative of support. Make a sign telling them who you are and why you are there. Bring coffee and other refreshments.

A recent Labor Notes story also encourages people to call the Big 3 CEOs at 318-300-1249 and leave a message telling the CEO’s to settle. Let people know you support the members of the UAW in their fight against corporate greed.

Today at the MA State House: Raise the Age & Raise the Wage

This afternoon, Committees in the MA Legislature will be holding hearings on bills to bring the minimum wage closer to a living wage and to create better outcomes for youth in our criminal legal system.

Here’s what both are about — and, importantly, how you can help.

Time to Raise the Minimum Wage

From 2013 to 2018, Raise Up Massachusetts, a coalition of faith, labor, and community groups, worked to bring the statewide minimum wage closer to a living wage, and given the stagnation of the federal minimum wage, our $15 is something to be proud of. But it’s still not a living wage.

And given the rising costs of health care, housing, child care, and basic goods, it doesn’t stretch as far as it did in June of 2018.

That’s why Raise Up organizing to raise the minimum wage again.

New legislation, filed earlier this year by Sen. Jason Lewis and Reps. Tram Nguyen and Dan Donahue (H.1925/S.1200) would raise the minimum wage to $20 and index it to inflation so that it doesn’t lose value over time. And it would include municipal employees, who were left out of the last minimum wage increase.

Can you urge the Joint Committee on Labor & Workforce Development to advance these bills?

Time to Raise the Age

In 2018, Massachusetts passed a comprehensive criminal legal reform bill, but we have much more to do if we want to make our criminal justice system more just.

One of those things: keeping 18 to 20-year-olds in the juvenile system.

H.1710 and S.942: An Act to promote public safety and better outcomes for young adults would do just that.

When young adults are kept in the juvenile system, they are able to have better access to school and rehabilitative programming. Research has shown that similar adolescents have a 34 percent lower recidivism rate when in the juvenile system than in the adult system.

We know that such reforms work: a decade ago, Massachusetts raised the age of juvenile court to keep 17-year-olds out of the adult system, which has led to better outcomes for youth and for public safety.

Our criminal legal system disproportionately harms communities of color in Massachusetts. Only 25% of Massachusetts’ young adult population is Black or Latino, but 70% of young adults incarcerated in state prisons and 57% of young adults in county jails are people of color. Our criminal legal system is limiting young people’s access to opportunities, exacerbating economic inequities.

Can you urge the Joint Committee on the Judiciary to advance these bills?

Every Worker Deserves a Living Wage.

Time for $20

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Chair Jehlen, Chair Cusack, and Members of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development:

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts. We are a statewide, multi-issue, grassroots membership organization focused on fighting for policy that would make our Commonwealth more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic. 

We urge you to give a favorable report to H.1925: An Act relative to the minimum wage, S.1200: An Act relative to raising the minimum wage closer to a living wage in the Commonwealth, and S.1188 / H.1872: An Act requiring one fair wage.

Raising the Minimum Wage (S.1200/H.1925)

In 2018, Massachusetts set an example for other states and the country by passing a $15 minimum wage. As of January 2023, the full increase has now taken effect, but $15 has lost significant purchasing power due to the rising cost of food, utilities, rent, and other basic necessities. Indeed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, today’s minimum wage would need to be more than $18 to have the same purchasing power as $15 in July 2018. 

The $15 minimum wage, while an improvement, is also not a living wage. According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, a living wage for a single adult with no children would be $21.35 per hour. When children enter the picture, that threshold for meeting basic needs gets higher and higher. Moreover, if the minimum wage did rise in step with productivity growth since 1968, it would have met this standard for a living wage. 

It’s time to raise the minimum wage again. These bills would raise the minimum wage to $20 per hour and index it to inflation, so that the value does not erode over time. Moreover, these bills correct a glaring omission from the last minimum wage increase: the exclusion of municipal workers. Paraprofessionals and cafeteria workers in some municipalities are still not receiving a minimum wage (let alone a living wage), and we should not be allowing such carveouts. All workers deserve a living wage, and this increase would move us in the right direction.

One Fair Wage (S.1188/H.1872)

The existence of subminimum wages for certain industries, particularly ones where workers are disproportionately women and people of color, is a part of a longstanding history of discrimination and economic exploitation.

Although employers are supposed to guarantee that workers get the full minimum wage with tips, this has never been common practice, and wage theft is rampant in the food service industry. The tiered wage system allows this to happen. We need greater enforcement of wage theft laws, but we need to change the systems that make such wage theft more prevalent.

Moreover, it is well-documented that sexual harassment remains widespread in the restaurant industry. As our country is continuing to grapple with the problem of sexual harassment and sexual assault across industries, we must face up to the fact that unequal wage systems create the breeding ground for such inappropriate and predatory behaviors.

Workers across Massachusetts deserve better and are demanding better, and we urge you to listen and to swiftly report out these bills favorably.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

MA Needs to End Poverty Wages

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Chairwoman Jehlen, Chairman Cutler, and members of the Joint Labor and Workforce Development Committee: 

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the chair of the Issues Committee of Progressive Massachusetts. Progressive Massachusetts is a statewide grassroots advocacy organization that fights for shared prosperity, racial and social justice, good government and strong democracy, and sustainable infrastructure and environmental protection. 

Central to our agenda of shared prosperity is good-paying jobs with fair working conditions. As such, Progressive Massachusetts would like to go on the record in support of H.1971/S.1213 (An Act Requiring One Fair Wage). 

The tipped minimum wage in Massachusetts stands at a mere $5.55. In 2023, when the recently passed minimum wage increase takes full effect, it will stand at only $6.75. This is not a living wage. [1]

Although employers are supposed to guarantee that workers get the full minimum wage with tips, this has never been common practice, and wage theft is rampant in the industry. The tiered wage system allows this to happen. 

Moreover, sexual harassment remains widespread in the restaurant industry. [2] As our country is slowly but surely starting to grapple with the problem of sexual harassment and sexual assault across industries, we must face up to the fact that unequal wage systems create the breeding ground for such inappropriate and predatory behaviors. 

Massachusetts is both one of the wealthiest and one of the most unequal states in this country. Giving a favorable report to H.1971/S.1213 (An Act Requiring One Fair Wage) will take us one step further in ensuring that our Commonwealth’s prosperity is shared by all. 

Sincerely, 

Jonathan Cohn 

Chair, Issues Committee

Progressive Massachusetts 


[1] http://livingwage.mit.edu/states/25

[2] http://rocunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/TakeUsOffTheMenu_Report_2.pdf