From the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)

The Living Wage Movement: Building Power in our Workplaces and Neighborhoods

In 1994, an effective alliance between labor (led by AFSCME) and religious
leaders (BUILD) in Baltimore launched a successful campaign for a local law
requiring city service contractors to pay a living wage. Since then, strong
community, labor, and religious coalitions have fought for and won similar
ordinances in cities such as St. Louis, Boston, Los Angeles, Tucson, San
Jose, Portland, Milwaukee, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Oakland -- bringing
the national living wage total to more than 130 ordinances. Today, more
than 75 living wage campaigns are underway in cities, counties, states, and
college campuses across the country. Taken collectively, these impressive
instances of local grassroots organizing is now rightfully dubbed the
national living wage movement, which syndicated columnist Robert Kuttner
has described as "the most interesting (and underreported) grassroots
enterprise to emerge since the civil rights movement Š signaling a
resurgence of local activism around pocketbook issues."

In short, living wage campaigns seek to pass local ordinances requiring
private businesses that benefit from public money to pay their workers a
living wage. Commonly, the ordinances cover employers who hold large city
or county service contracts or receive substantial financial assistance
from the city in the form of grants, loans, bond financing, tax abatements,
or other economic development subsidies.

The concept behind any living wage campaign is simple: Our limited public
dollars should not be subsidizing poverty-wage work. When subsidized
employers are allowed to pay their workers less than a living wage, tax
payers end up footing a double bill: the initial subsidy and then the food
stamps, emergency medical, housing and other social services low wage
workers may require to support themselves and their families even
minimally. Public dollars should be leveraged for the public good --
reserved for those private sector employers who demonstrate a commitment to
providing decent, family-supporting jobs in our local communities.

Many campaigns have defined the living wage as equivalent to the poverty
line for a family of four, (currently $9.06 an hour), though ordinances
that have passed range from $6.25 to $13.00 an hour, with some newer
campaigns pushing for even higher wages.

Increasingly, living wage coalitions are proposing other community
standards in addition to a wage requirement, such as health benefits,
vacation days, community hiring goals, public disclosure, community
advisory boards, environmental standards, and language that supports union
organizing.

Although each campaign is different, most share some common elements. Often
spearheaded by ACORN, other community groups, union locals, or central
labor councils, living wage campaigns are characterized by uniquely broad
coalitions of local community, union, and religious leaders who come
together to develop living wage principles, organize endorsements, draft
ordinance language, and plan campaign strategy. The campaigns usually call
for some degree of research into work and poverty in the area, research on
city contracts, subsidies and related wage data, and often cost of living
studies.

In addition, the strength of living wage efforts often lies in their
ability to promote public education through flyering, petitioning, rallies,
demonstrations targeting low wage employers, low-wage worker speak-outs,
reports, and press conferences. Because most current living wage campaigns
seek to pass legislative measures, campaigns also include lobbying and
negotiations with elected officials such as city and county councilors, the
mayor's office, and city staff.

Living Wage campaigns also provide opportunities for organizations that
work to build a mass base of low income or working people to join-up,
organize, and mobilize new members. Community organizers and labor unions
can look to build membership during the campaign with neighborhood
door-knocking, worksite organizing, house visits, neighborhood and
workplace meetings, petition signature gathering, etc. and after the
campaign on workplace and neighborhood living wage trainings,
implementation fights with city agencies, and through campaigns targeting
specific companies to meet or exceed living wage requirements.

So, what makes a collection of local policy decisions merit the title of a
national "movement"? In short, both the economic context that gives rise to
these efforts and the nature of the campaigns themselves make them
important tools in the larger struggle for economic justice.

First, consider the economic realities facing low income people today: the
failure of the minimum wage to keep pace with inflation (it now buys less
than it did in the 1960's); the growing income gap between the rich and the
poor; massive cuts in welfare and downward pressure on wages resulting from
former recipients being forced into the labor market with no promise of
jobs; the growth of service sector jobs where low wages are concentrated;
the weakening of labor unions; rampant no-strings-attached corporate
welfare that depletes tax dollars while keeping workers poor. The list goes
on. Living wage campaigns have arisen in response to all these pressures.

Given this context, living wage campaigns have the potential to have
benefits that go beyond the immediate benefits to affected low wage workers
and their families. Wherever they arise, living wage campaigns have the
potential to:

• Build and sustain permanent and powerful community, labor, and religious
coalitions that promote greater understanding and support of each other's
work and create the potential to influence other important public policy
debates

• Provide organizing opportunities that strengthen the institutions that
represent and build power for low and moderate income people: community
groups, labor unions, religious congregations

• Serve as a tool of political accountability, forcing our elected
officials to take a stand on working people's issues, as well as engaging
low and moderate income people in the political process

• Build leadership skills among low-income members of community
organizations, unions, and congregations

• Raise the whole range of economic justice issues that gave rise to the
living wage movement and affect the ability of low income families to live
and work with dignity and respect

Despite the concerted efforts of business interests who consistently oppose
these campaigns, "living wage" has become a household word and an exciting
model of a successful local grassroots strategy. With new campaigns
springing up every month, this movement shows no signs of slowing down.

We encourage you to join in the fight.

Click for the ACORN Living Wage Resource website.