Some Maine voters in yesterday s midterm election rejected Portland s "Question D," which would have increased the city s minimum wage from $12.75 an hour to $18 an hour by 2025. Employers would also have no longer been allowed to pay tipped workers the sub-minimum wage of $6.38, with tips bringing them up to the current minimum wage. Joe Lazzerini, northeast campaign director with One Fair Wage Maine, said workers deserve better. .
Election Day is busy at most news outlets, but some employees of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette are picketing today, still on strike for what they consider unfair labor practices of the newspaper s parent company. Some workers have been off the job since Oct. 6; others since Oct. .
Employees of the Tacoma Art Museum have collected more than 400 signatures on a community letter, as they seek to unionize the institution founded in 1935. Stephen Rue, lead preparator for the Art Museum, prepares exhibits at the museum, and said a majority of workers have indicated they want to join the Washington Federation of State Employees and become the state s first museum with unionized workers across departments. Rue believes a recent management resignation and other disruptions suggest it is the appropriate time for more employee engagement. .
Food-service workers and their allies are calling on Congress to support the new "Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights," a document calling for higher wages, better working conditions and access to health care. The movement urged Congress to raise the federal minimum wage for tipped workers, which is $2.13 per hour and is the standard in 17 states. Sekou Siby, president and CEO of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and ROC Action, conducted a survey of more than 1,000 restaurant workers. .