Labor Issues
News Featured Charities Fact Sheet Resources Publications and Articles Challenges How to Get Involved Upcoming Events Recommended Media
Love Justice

“No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country.”

— Franklin D. Roosevelt

Love Justice

“Nobody who works 40 hours a week should be living in poverty.”

— Bernie Sanders

Love Justice

“No man can be a good citizen unless he has a wage more sufficient to cover the bare cost of living....”

— Theodore Roosevelt

Love Justice

“An industry that cannot pay its workers a decent living wage has no right to exist.”

— Fiorello H. La Guardia

Labor Issues News

Federal hiring ‘call to action’ centers on job applicants, HR workforce

August 17, 2024
Job applicants, hiring managers and human resources professionals are the top three priorities in new guidance aiming to reform the federal hiring process. by Drew Friedman August 14, 2024 6:07 pm…
Read More →

Have We Forgotten the True Meaning of Labor Day?

September 1, 2023
By Jay L. Zagorsky The first Labor Day was hardly a national holiday. Workers had to strike to celebrate it. By The Conversation Sept. 1, 2023, at 10:54am Labor Day is a…
Read More →

Understanding America’s Labor Shortage: The Most Impacted Industries

August 2, 2023
By Stephanie Ferguson, Director, Global Employment Policy & Special Initiatives, U.S. Chamber of Commerce on July 12, 2023 The Health Services, Professional and Business Services, Trade, and Accommodation and Food…
Read More →

Labor unions ask UN body to probe Starbucks’ use of legal loopholes

May 14, 2023
By Hilary Russ On May 11, 2023 NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) – Labor unions on Thursday asked a United Nations agency to investigate whether gaps in U.S. law have…
Read More →

Get Informed

Fact Sheet

  • The minimum wage does not provide a living wage for most American families. A typical family of four needs to work nearly four full-time minimum-wage jobs to earn a living wage.
    MIT
  • A single-mother with two children earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour needs to work 138 hours per week to earn a living wage.
    MIT
  • The average income of a low-income working family, adjusted for inflation, is 11% lower than it was in 1979.
    Economic Policy Institute
  • Adjusted for inflation, the federal minimum wage peaked in 1968.
    Pew Research
  • Thirty million Americans make less than $8.70 an hour, the official U.S. poverty level for a family of four.
    POV.org
  • The restaurant/food service industry is the single biggest employer of near-minimum-wage workers.
    Pew Research

Resources, Publications, & Articles

· Economic Policy Institute

· MIT

· Living Wage Foundation

· Resolution Foundation

· Wage Indicator

· Berkely IRLE

Some Major Living Wage Challenges Of 2022

  • Labor violations
  • Rising cost of living
  • Federal minimum wage has stagnated since 2009
  • Workers' dependents
Love Justice
Get Involved

Ways to Take Action

Donate to Organizations

Donate to organizations already working towards raising the minimum wage

These organizations already have a game plan and are capable of accomplishing much more than individuals by themselves. It is a great way to see the changes you want to see. Make sure to thoroughly check out the organization before you donate to make sure your funding will be spent appropriately.

Love Justice
Love Justice

Contact Officials

Contacting officials and representatives is a great way to inform them of your ideas. By reaching out to them you can directly inform them of your wishes and ideas and its a great way to exercise your rights.

Sign Petitions

Signing a petition is a great way to show community support for an idea or topic. If enough people generate enough momentum and make enough noise, it can be brought to the attention of people who can make those changes.

Love Justice

Upcoming Events

Stay Engaged

Recommended Media

SURVIVING AN UNLIVABLE WAGE

The restaurant industry has driven a significant amount of economic growth since the Great Recession, but many restaurant employees continue to end up hungry due to a two-tiered wage system that allows tipped workers to be paid as little as $2.13 an hour. CBSN Originals' Adam Yamaguchi travels to Indiana to explore the impact of tipping as a primary source of income for people in one of America’s fastest-growing workforces.

Where to Watch: YouTube

Love Justice
Love Justice

LIVING WAGE NOW!

Living Wage Now! is a 30-minute film that features garment workers and their allies from across Asia who describe the practices that allow fashion brands to keep their prices low for Western consumers.

“My salary is very low, only 160 USD per month. That is just not enough to cover basic expenses,” a young Cambodian woman says at the start. “Like rent, my children’s education, food and water, repaying loans.”

Where to Watch: YouTube

FASHIONSCAPES: LIVING WAGE

The film focuses on the garment workers and representatives in ‘garment hotspots’ silenced by brands. Livia and Andrew speak to the network of garment workers and activists they have maintained contact with over a decade. They uncover a flow of evidence, carried by women from the gates of ‘secret’ factories to a network of female legal professionals across the world, led by lawyers in The Circle, a global NGO using the collective power of women to support the world’s most vulnerable women and girls.

Where to Watch: YouTube

Love Justice