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Raise the Floor
Wages and Policies that Work for All of Us
Holly Sklar and Laryssa Mykyta; Marie C. Wilson (Afterword)
Pages: 250ISBN: 0-89608-683-6
Format: paper only
Release Date: 2002-01-01
A project of the Ms. Foundation for Women
Most Americans believe a job should keep you out of poverty, not keep you in it. Raise The Floor: Wages and Policies That Work for All of Us show us how we can translate that belief into reality by raising the minimum wage. Authors Holly Sklar, Laryssa Mykyta, and Susan Wefald deftly blend the latest data and real-life stories to show what it takes to make ends meet in today’s America. At present, a couple with two children has to work a combined 3.3 full-time minimum wage jobs to make ends meet. That’s 132 hours a week!
In addition to telling workers’ stories, presenting original data, and proposing comprehensive policies, Raise The Floor spotlights businesses, large and small, that demonstrate how good wages are good business—in good economic times and bad.
Table of Contents
Overview
1 It
Just Doesn't Add Up
2 A
National Minimum Needs Budget
3 Shortchanging
The Minimum Wage
4 Good
Wages Are Good Business
5 $8
Minimum—Make It A Living
6 Policies
That Make Ends Meet
7 Turning
Point
Afterword
Appendix
A Background
Tables
Appendix
B
Minimum Needs Budget Methodology
Appendix
C Regional
Variations in Minimum Needs Budgets: New York, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Des Moines,
IA; Kansas City, MO; and Gadsden, AL
Appendix
D
Summary of Successful Living Wage Campaigns
Appendix
E
Methodology for Computing Minimum Wage Increase