466 results for author: Karl Kramer

Seattle Mayor Unveils Plan for Ride-Hailing Minimum Wage

By Justin Steale Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan last week unveiled legislation she said would guarantee ride-hailing drivers are paid at least the city's minimum wage plus reasonable expenses. Durkan said she intends to transmit the legislation to the Seattle City Council this week. A study by James Parrott of The New School and Michael Reich of the University of California, Berkeley found that ride-hailing drivers in Seattle make $9.73 an hour after expenses, which is below the city's minimum wage for large ($16.39 an hour) and small ($15.75 or $13.50 an hour depending on tips and benefits) employers. Using that study, Durkan said Seattle will ...

Joe Biden wants a $15 minimum wage – will the coronavirus pandemic make that more likely?

By Elisabeth Buchwald July 25, 2020 A $15-an-hour federal minimum wage has long been on many Democratic lawmakers’ wish lists. They could have the chance to cross that goal off their lists come November with former Vice President Joe Biden ahead of President Donald Trump in several recent polls. Even before the pandemic, in Biden’s first official campaign speech, he promised to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour if elected president. The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since 2009, which comes out to roughly $15,000 a year for someone working 40 hours a week. The conversation around increasing the minimum wage has ...

It’s been a record 11 years since the last increase in U.S. minimum wage

By Aimee Picchi July 24, 2020 It's been 11 years since the last federal minimum wage hike, the longest span the baseline wage has gone without an increase since it began in 1938. Since the last federal minimum wage hike — to $7.25 an hour, starting July 24, 2009 — the cost of living has increased 20%, while the price of essentials such as housing and health care have increased even faster. That left many low-wage workers with little financial flexibility or savings as pandemic hit the nation this year and swiftly resulted in a recession and double-digit unemployment. The average rent back in 2009 was about $1,132, adjusted for ...

Gov. Wolf calls for minimum wage bump

By Brian Myszkowski July 24, 2020 Governor Tom Wolf is on a mission to raise the pay rate for Pennsylvania workers, calling attention to a minimum wage that has remained stagnant for 11 years as of Friday. Since July 24, 2009, the commonwealth’s wage floor has sat at $7.25 per hour, the result of an increase by the federal government. Wolf has called on the General Assembly to raise the minimum wage, highlighting the dire circumstances faced by those struggling to get by in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially essential and front-line workers. “Today is a sad reminder that across the state many workers are on the job and ...

Hawaii is Hiring website lists more than 17,000 job openings across the state

By Annalisa Burgos July 27, 2020 People receiving unemployment insurance will start to see smaller checks next week. Unless both the U.S. House and Senate work out details of a new stimulus package before the scheduled recess on August 7th, thousands of people in Hawaii collecting benefits will have to resort to their Plan B. If you don't like letting your guard down during the COVID-19 pandemic, a security job may be for you. ... "There's so many other opportunities out there, and maybe not the skill sets that they had previously in their job, but an opportunity to learn new skill sets and get trained for the skill sets and hopefully ...