This Wednesday morning, April 8 at 9am, we’ll talk to Erik Gustafson, the leader of EPIC – Enabling Peace in Iraq. This April marks the 17th anniversary of the fall of Baghdad in 2003. Erik was on our show last January and he’ll give us an update on the situation there. See the latest developments HERE as well as their fact sheet HERE and a detailed explanation of all the key players HERE.
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The coronavirus crisis brings into focus those restaurant and other industry workers who work for much less than the already inadequate $7.25 Federal minimum wage ($8.56 in Florida): the tipped workers who earn only $2.13 per hour ($5.54 in Florida). On the second half of the show we’ll chat with Mamdouh Fekkak of One Fair Wage.
“ONE FAIR WAGE is advancing policy, driving industry change, and shifting the narrative in order to ensure that all workers in America are paid at least the full minimum wage from their employers. The most powerful force driving subminimum wages in the United States is the National Restaurant Association (“The Other NRA”) which has lobbied for decades to keep the federal subminimum wage for tipped workers at a paltry $2.13 an hour. The Other NRA’s lobbying has resulted in tipped workers in 43 states receiving a subminimum wage — these workers include not only restaurant servers, bussers, hosts, bartenders, but also workers in nail salons, hair salons, car washes, airports, and parking lots. And now app-based companies like InstaCart, DoorDash, Uber and Lyft are also pushing for subminimum wages for their employees, arguing that their customer tips should count toward their workers’ payments. Subminimum wages are also paid to workers with disabilities, incarcerated workers, and teen workers in most states. One Fair Wage is calling for ‘No Worker Left Behind;’ that every person who works should be paid at least a full, fair minimum wage from their employer.”