Still Struggling to Make Ends Meet 2022: A report on living wages in Washington State

Over the last two years, the Covid-19 pandemic has triggered many changes in American life, but workers in Washington State and across the country continue to face difficulties making ends meet. Hazard pay premiums for essential workers have temporarily boosted worker pay, but inflation through February 2022 was at its highest rate since 1982, erasingContinue reading “Still Struggling to Make Ends Meet 2022: A report on living wages in Washington State”

“Patchwork of Paychecks” Not Enough Jobs to Go Around

For Immediate Release Dec. 8, 2015 Contact: Kathy Mulady Communications director kathy@allianceforajustsociety.org (206) 992-8787 Patchwork of Paychecks Only half of all job openings pay $15 an hour or more It’s easy to tell a low-wage worker to “go get a better-paying job,” but the reality is there are nowhere near enough jobs that pay aContinue reading ““Patchwork of Paychecks” Not Enough Jobs to Go Around”

NY Fast food workers win $15 minimum wage

Fast food workers in New York are getting a raise! Hard work by our affiliates Citizen Action New York and Make the Road New York – along with dozens of other allied organizations and unions, and thousands of workers who took to the streets and shared their personal stories – has paid off  in a hugeContinue reading “NY Fast food workers win $15 minimum wage”

Working Families Need Good Jobs – Not Just Any Job

Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its January jobs report, showing that 257,000 jobs were added last month. Increasing jobs is great news, but only if those jobs allow workers and their families to make ends meet. The numbers have been praised, especially the average hourly wages that “soared 12 cents” to $24.75. While wages didContinue reading “Working Families Need Good Jobs – Not Just Any Job”

Minimum Wage Shouldn’t Force Workers to Live in Poverty

On New Year’s Day, 20 states raised their minimum wages. That leaves a lot of states that aren’t increasing the minimum wage — along with the federal government. Even some of those employees who are getting increases don’t have much to celebrate. Workers in Florida might barely notice their 12-cents-an-hour raise. And the extra 15 centsContinue reading “Minimum Wage Shouldn’t Force Workers to Live in Poverty”

Making Ends Meet: Unaffordable Housing

Last month, we showed just how difficult it is for working parents to afford to pay for child care and cover other living expenses. One of those other major living expenses that all workers must account for is the cost of housing and utilities. Housing is considered affordable if it costs no more than 30Continue reading “Making Ends Meet: Unaffordable Housing”

Only 52 percent of Full-Time Workers of Color Earn Enough to Make Ends Meet

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Nov. 18, 2014 Contact: Kathy Mulady, communications director kathy@allianceforajustsociety.org Only 52 percent of Full-Time Workers of Color Earn Enough to Make Ends Meet Just 57 percent of women and 42 percent of Latino workers earn enough working full time to cover their basic needs SEATTLE — During this season of abundance, manyContinue reading “Only 52 percent of Full-Time Workers of Color Earn Enough to Make Ends Meet”

Living Wage: A New Battle in the War on Poverty

Fifty years after President Lyndon Johnson announced a War on Poverty in America, more than 46.5 million people in our country, about one out of every seven, still struggle to get enough to eat or have a place to live. The U.S. Census Bureau shows that for people of color, the poverty rate is evenContinue reading “Living Wage: A New Battle in the War on Poverty”

2012 Job Gap Report

“Broken Bootstraps: Falling Behind on Full-Time Work,” is the 14th annual installment of a joint study by Alliance for a Just Society and its affiliates in 7 states.   Unemployment rates in all states are still high. A modest $9.00/hr. minimum wage has been mentioned at the federal level. Even that income would leave mostContinue reading “2012 Job Gap Report”

Living wage jobs are scarce in Northwest and Colorado

The recently released 2010 Northwest Job Gap Study, Searching for Work that Pays looks at living wages in each county in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. The study also compares the number of job openings paying a living wage to the number of job seekers in each state. The key findings are disturbing: 48%Continue reading “Living wage jobs are scarce in Northwest and Colorado”