[US] Nearly half of workers earn under $25 per hour

In the US, a new report from the nonprofit group One Fair Wage (OFW) has revealed that nearly half of the nation’s workers earn less than $25 an hour, Vanguard reports.

The findings underscore what the group describes as a critical need for a $25 to $30 minimum wage.

On August 29, OFW reported that “67 million workers across the United States - nearly half the nation’s workforce - earn less than $25 an hour.”

One Fair Wage is a national organisation encompassing nearly 300,000 service workers, more than 1,000 restaurant employers, and various groups committed to increasing wages for all workers, eliminating subminimum wages, and enhancing working conditions in the service industry.

Its report was published in advance of large-scale Labor Day protests in New York and Chicago, part of a nationwide “Workers Over Billionaires” Day of Action.

The protest is reportedly intended to demand real solutions to the affordability crisis and launch the Living Wage For All campaign. Thousands of workers were expected to join the September 1 rally, OFW said.

OFW organised the protest with several partners, including 50501, Rise and Resist, Physicians for a National Health Program–NY, New York Doctors, Target Majority NYC, and the May Day Strong coalition.

OFW stated that about half of US workers earn an hourly wage of under $25, and that “in New York, 41 percent of workers earn below this threshold; in Illinois, 44 percent. In Ohio and Michigan, it is nearly one in two workers.”

It also drew attention to the dramatic growth in income inequality over the past 40 years, with the income of the top 1 percent reportedly increasing by 326 per cent. The income of the majority of workers has only increased by 73 per cent.

OFW noted that Donald Trump “promised” the “No Tax on Tips” measure, but two-thirds of tipped workers do not earn enough to file income taxes, so most would not benefit from this policy.

This at a time when tariffs are increasing prices, Medicaid is being cut, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is taking away support that low-wage workers are reliant on. Leaving such workers struggling to make ends meet.

Saru Jayaraman - president of One Fair Wage - reportedly expressed her concern.

“The Fight for Fifteen changed history by lifting up the public imagination and proving that bold demands can become reality. Now workers are calling for something more fundamental, a living wage that actually meets the cost of survival,” she said.

“This Labor Day, thousands of workers are rising up in New York, Chicago, and across the country to demand real solutions and to launch the Living Wage for All campaign to make America affordable now.”

“The shocking truth is that half of America cannot afford to live in America,” Ms Jayaraman added. 

OFW is just one of a number of organisations working to increase the minimum wage and create a more just country.

Source: Vanguard

(Quotes via original reporting)

In the US, a new report from the nonprofit group One Fair Wage (OFW) has revealed that nearly half of the nation’s workers earn less than $25 an hour, Vanguard reports.

The findings underscore what the group describes as a critical need for a $25 to $30 minimum wage.

On August 29, OFW reported that “67 million workers across the United States - nearly half the nation’s workforce - earn less than $25 an hour.”

One Fair Wage is a national organisation encompassing nearly 300,000 service workers, more than 1,000 restaurant employers, and various groups committed to increasing wages for all workers, eliminating subminimum wages, and enhancing working conditions in the service industry.

Its report was published in advance of large-scale Labor Day protests in New York and Chicago, part of a nationwide “Workers Over Billionaires” Day of Action.

The protest is reportedly intended to demand real solutions to the affordability crisis and launch the Living Wage For All campaign. Thousands of workers were expected to join the September 1 rally, OFW said.

OFW organised the protest with several partners, including 50501, Rise and Resist, Physicians for a National Health Program–NY, New York Doctors, Target Majority NYC, and the May Day Strong coalition.

OFW stated that about half of US workers earn an hourly wage of under $25, and that “in New York, 41 percent of workers earn below this threshold; in Illinois, 44 percent. In Ohio and Michigan, it is nearly one in two workers.”

It also drew attention to the dramatic growth in income inequality over the past 40 years, with the income of the top 1 percent reportedly increasing by 326 per cent. The income of the majority of workers has only increased by 73 per cent.

OFW noted that Donald Trump “promised” the “No Tax on Tips” measure, but two-thirds of tipped workers do not earn enough to file income taxes, so most would not benefit from this policy.

This at a time when tariffs are increasing prices, Medicaid is being cut, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is taking away support that low-wage workers are reliant on. Leaving such workers struggling to make ends meet.

Saru Jayaraman - president of One Fair Wage - reportedly expressed her concern.

“The Fight for Fifteen changed history by lifting up the public imagination and proving that bold demands can become reality. Now workers are calling for something more fundamental, a living wage that actually meets the cost of survival,” she said.

“This Labor Day, thousands of workers are rising up in New York, Chicago, and across the country to demand real solutions and to launch the Living Wage for All campaign to make America affordable now.”

“The shocking truth is that half of America cannot afford to live in America,” Ms Jayaraman added. 

OFW is just one of a number of organisations working to increase the minimum wage and create a more just country.

Source: Vanguard

(Quotes via original reporting)