EMERYVILLE, a tiny city of 12,000 lying on the eastern shore of the San Francisco bay, is rather cruelly known by residents of its bigger neighbours primarily as a place to buy furniture. A huge IKEA, a Swedish homeware shop, greets visitors to the city, which has no fewer than four shopping centres. But Emeryville has a better claim to fame; its many shoppers are served by some of the best-paid retail staff in the country. Since July 2015 the city’s minimum wage, for all but the smallest firms, has been $14.44 an hour, nearly double the federal minimum of $7.25 and almost 50% higher than the state minimum of $10. Emeryville is one of dozens of cities across America to have boosted its minimum wage in recent years, but it has gone further than almost any other towards the $15 campaigners seek.
That goal emerged in New York in 2012, when 200 fast-food workers went on strike demanding higher pay and a union. Those strikes were repeated, grew, and then spread nationwide (the last national strike was in April). At the same time, local politicians began to take action. After more than a decade with barely any changes to local minimum wages, they rose...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/28SnWT1
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