low-wage workers
The Pump Handle
Tag archives for low-wage workers
Wage theft in South Florida: Nation’s first county with wage theft protections reports on progress and perils
Posted by The Pump Handle on May 14, 2013 Earlier this month, Florida lawmakers wrapped up their latest legislative session. And nearly 500 miles south of Tallahassee in Miami-Dade County, workers’ rights advocates breathed yet another sigh of relief.
Cracking down on deadbeat bosses: Wage theft victory a milestone in Chicago’s worker center movement
Posted by The Pump Handle on April 15, 2013 For Angel Nava, Chicago’s newly adopted wage theft ordinance is particularly personal. Until recently, Nava had worked at the same car wash business in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood for 14 years. The 55-year-old employee did it all — washing, detailing, buffing — for about 50 hours each week. Then, his boss decided to stop paying overtime.
Growing gap between wages, rents means healthy housing is increasingly out of reach
Posted by The Pump Handle on March 29, 2013 In California, a minimum wage worker has to work at least 98 hours in a week to afford a two-bedroom unit at fair market rental prices. In Texas, that worker would have to work between 81 and 97 hours in a week, and in North Carolina it’s upward of 80 hours per week.
Construction workers in central Texas successfully tie living wages to big business tax breaks
Posted by The Pump Handle on December 14, 2012 Workers in Travis County, Texas, are celebrating what advocates are calling a landmark victory, after local leaders voted to ensure that economic incentive deals benefit both big business and workers.
Occupational injuries and illnesses in low-wage workers cost the US $39 billion in 2010
Posted by Liz Borkowski on December 13, 2012 Our new policy brief and white paper address the economic impacts of occupational injuries and illnesses on low-wage workers.
Exploring links between working conditions and obesity in low-wage workers
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on November 28, 2012 Most current strategies to address the obesity problem in Americans focus on individuals changing their behavior. A new report illuminates why those strategies alone ignore the work environment as a contributor to obesity risk.
Occupational Health News Roundup
Posted by Liz Borkowski on November 8, 2012 In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, cleanup workers face many hazards and hourly workers who missed out on several days of income wonder how they’ll make ends meet.