By Rachel Goldfarb, originally published on Next New Deal
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Occupy the Minimum Wage: Will Young People Restore the Strength of Unions? (The Guardian)
Rose Hackman speaks to Roosevelt Institute Fellow Annette Bernhardt and Roosevelt Institute | Campus Network member David Meni about young people's growing involvement in the labor movement. Hackman says Millennial support of unions is grounded in slow wage growth and economic inequality.
No, Obamacare Isn’t a ‘Bailout’ for Insurers (WaPo)
Roosevelt Institute Fellow Mike Konczal suggests that the GOP should stop referring to the risk corridor funds in the Affordable Care Act, which are designed to share greater-than-expected losses, as bailouts, because they are preplanned subsidies, neither reactionary nor arbitrary.
Why Paid Sick Leave Is Good For Business (In These Times)
David Sirota writes that political demagoguery around paid sick leave, which generally claims that the cost increase from paid leave will lead to fewer jobs, is just wrong. Studies now show that paid sick leave has a positive macroeconomic effect by lowering turnover and the spread of disease.
In DC, Inequality Hits Home (MSNBC)
Suzy Khimm contrasts the discussions of inequality in the Capitol and the lived experiences of some of DC's unemployed residents. Workers without college degrees are having a particularly hard time in DC, with an unemployment rate more than four times that of their degreed peers.
"Our Food Is Dishonestly Priced": Michael Pollan on the Food Movement's Next Goal of Justice for Food Workers (Truthout)
Amy B. Dean interviews Michael Pollan, who says that the food movement, which is typically seen as elitist, needs to fight for a living wage for the low-wage workers at all levels of the food supply chain. Pollan references the Coalition of Immokalee Workers as a successful model.
- Roosevelt Take: Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Richard Kirsch interviewed three leaders of the CIW prior to the 2013 Four Freedoms Awards, where the Roosevelt Institute honored the Coalition with the Freedom From Want medal.
Proposal to Raise Tip Wages Resisted (NYT)
Steven Greenhouse reports on industry opposition to raising the tipped minimum wage, which has remained at $2.13 for almost 20 years. The restaurant staff he speaks to describe the struggles of living off fluctuating pay from tips and an almost meaningless hourly wage.
New on Next New Deal
41 Years After Roe, Women's Rights Are Still at Risk
Roosevelt Institute Fellow Andrea Flynn writes about conservatives' continued battle to eliminate women's right to choose. With last week's anniversary of Roe v. Wade, she also looks at what the pro-choice movement is doing to fight back, and urges it to expand those efforts.