Business

One Fair Wage Battle Continues to Broaden Across Federal Lines

THE AFRO — Last week the fight for fair wages once again made it to the Hill,

Published

6 years ago

February 25, 2019

By George Kevin Jordan

Last week the fight for fair wages once again made it to the Hill as legislators and advocates pushed for two pieces of legislation during congressional briefings on the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Raise Wage Act. But organizers advocating for tipped workers in the District say people are feeling pinch of income disparities now.

The Raise Wage Act (H.R. 582) would ultimately increase the federal minimum wage from 8.55 to $15 an hour within five years. The Paycheck Fairness Act, helps to strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to push for more transparency in pay disclosures, and limiting the ways in which pay scales can be assessed. It would make the EEOC collect data and make it harder for employees to be discriminated against for inquiring about pay.

The legislation also offers protections for women and members of marginalized communities.

One Fair Wage and the the Restaurant Opportunities Center D.C. are still in the fight for raising the wages of tipped workers on a national and local level. (Courtesy Photo)

Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center gave testimony last week and offered insight to how women and particularly women are impacted by the current laws.

In her official testimony, Graves stated that:

“When women are shortchanged, families suffer. More than 24.9 million mothers with children under 18 are in the workforce, making up nearly 1 in 6 – or 26 percent – of all workers. The great majority of mothers in the workforce work full time. In 2015, 42 percent of mothers were the sole or primary breadwinners in their families, while 22.4 percent of mothers were co- breadwinners, meaning mothers’ earnings are critical to families’ financial security. And those working mothers also face a wage gap, paid only 71 cents for every dollar paid to fathers, a gap that translates to a typical loss of $16,000 annually.

Closing the wage gap would help lift women and children out of poverty. Nearly one in eight women in the U.S. live in poverty, with high rates for women of color, including 11 percent of Asian women, 21 percent of Black women and 18 percent of Latinas. More than 1 in 3 families headed by unmarried mothers lived in poverty in 2017, and over half of all poor children (58 percent) lived in families headed by unmarried mothers. Closing the wage gap is not only fair, it is urgently needed.”

The Raise Wage Act would also bolster pay for tipped workers which more often tend to be Brown and Black women. D.C. has been embroiled in a long standing battle to offer increased wages to tipped workers. Currently while D.C.’s wage is 12.50 an hour, tipped workers are at $3.89 an hour, with plans to go up to $5.00 by 2020.

Initiative 77 was introduced in the District to push tipped workers up to $15 minimum wage by 2025. However that bill was overturned by the D.C. Council.

The wage gap impacts many tipped workers in the District according to data for the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and ROC D.C.

D.C. is home to about 56,000 workers in the restaurant industry, with 2,267 establishments, According to ROC United/D.C. data. Restaurant sales hit $3.8 billion in 2017. As the restaurant workforce is predicted to grow, however, the income disparities are glaring.

About 25 percent of tipped workers are on Medicaid and 16 percent utilize food stamps. About 24 percent of servers are on Medicaid and 17.4 percent use food stamps. Tipped restaurant workers using medicaid and food stamps are 24.9 percent and 14.7 percent respectively. This is compared to 11.5 percent and 9.1 percent of overall workforce on medicaid and food stamps.

“It’s an important issue issue regardless of where you live, but particularly in D.C. which has, as we see, income disparity and housing disparities all across the city. It’s definitely just a small microcosm of a larger issue,” said Candace Cunningham, and organizer with ROC D.C.

As the larger federal bills move towards a vote in the House and Senate, ROC D.C. will try to repeal the D.C. Council’s decision to overturn and keep pushing for higher wages for tipped workers.

While the referendum in D.C. for increasing wages for tipped workers is at a standstill, ROC D.C. still continues to “push as hard as we can on a national level and locally we’re continuing to focus on improving working conditions and building coalitions,” Cunningham said.

This article originally appeared in The Afro.

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Activism

Oak Temple Hill Hosts Interfaith Leaders from Across the Bay Area

Distinguished faith leaders Rev. Ken Chambers, executive director the Interfaith Council of Alameda County (ICAC); Michael Pappas, executive director of the San Francisco Interfaith Council; and Dr. Ejaz Naqzi, president of the Contra Costa County Interfaith Council addressed the group on key issues including homelessness, food insecurity, immigration, and meaningful opportunities to care for individuals and communities in need.

Published

2 days ago

June 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Troy McCombs (from the state of Washington), Elder Mark Mortensen (from Irvine, CA), Michael Pappas, Rev. Ken Chambers, Dr. Ejaz Naqvi, Elder Sigfried Nauman (from the state of Washington), and Richard Kopf. Courtesy photo.

Special to the Post

Interfaith leaders from the Bay Area participated in a panel discussion at the annual meeting of communication leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held on Temple Hill in Oakland on May 31. Distinguished faith leaders Rev. Ken Chambers, executive director the Interfaith Council of Alameda County (ICAC); Michael Pappas, executive director of the San Francisco Interfaith Council; and Dr. Ejaz Naqzi, president of the Contra Costa County Interfaith Council addressed the group on key issues including homelessness, food insecurity, immigration, and meaningful opportunities to care for individuals and communities in need.

Chambers, said he is thankful for the leadership and support of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints’ global ministry, which recently worked with the interfaith congregations of ICAC to help Yasjmine Oeveraas a homeless Norwegian mother and her family find shelter and access to government services.

Oeveraas told the story of how she was assisted by ICAC to the Oakland Post. “I’m a Norwegian citizen who escaped an abusive marriage with nowhere to go. We’ve been homeless in Florida since January 2024. Recently, we came to California for my son’s passport, but my plan to drive for Uber fell through, leaving us homeless again. Through 2-1-1, I was connected to Rev. Ken Chambers, pastor of the West Side Missionary Baptist Church and president of the Interfaith Council of Alameda County, and his car park program, which changed our lives. We spent about a week-and-a-half living in our car before being blessed with a trailer. After four years of uncertainty and 18 months of homelessness, this program has given us stability and hope again.

“Now, both my son and I have the opportunity to continue our education. I’m pursuing cyber analytics, something I couldn’t do while living in the car. My son can also complete his education, which is a huge relief. This program has given us the space to focus and regain our dignity. I am working harder than ever to reach my goals and give back to others in need.”

Richard Kopf, communication director for The Church of Jesus Christ in the Bay Area stated: “As followers of Jesus Christ, we embrace interfaith cooperation and are united in our efforts to show God’s love for all of his children.”

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Alameda County

Council Approves Budget to Invest in Core City Services, Save Fire Stations, Invest in Economic Development

I am most proud of our ability to fund these critical city services without the use of one-time fixes. We are still suffering the consequences of last year’s budget, where a majority of the Council, myself not included, chose to incorporate anticipated proceeds from the sale of the Coliseum to fund essential services. Since the sale has still not yet been completed, the lack of funds led to drastic cuts in city services, including the temporary closure of fire stations, staff layoffs, and the cancellations of many service contracts.

Published

2 days ago

June 14, 2025

Oakland Post

District 4 Oakland City Councilmember Janani Ramachandran. Photo courtesy City of Oakland.

By Janani Ramachandran, District 4 Oakland City Councilmember

On Wednesday, June 11, City Council took a bold step to prioritize investing in essential city services to get our beautiful Town back on track. As Chair of the Finance Committee, I am proud to have led a collaborative process, alongside Councilmembers Rowena Brown, Zac Unger, and Charlene Wang, to develop a set of amendments to the proposed FY 2025-2027 budget which passed successfully with a vote of 6 – 1. Despite facing a $265 million structural budget deficit, we were able to restore funding to ensure that all 25 fire stations remain open, fund 5 police academies, invest millions of dollars to combat illegal dumping and sideshow prevention, improve our permitting processes, fund a “business incentives” program to revitalize our commercial corridors, improve upon our homelessness prevention work, amplify the city’s anti-trafficking programs, re-instate our tree services division, staff up our Auditor’s office – all while preventing any layoffs of city staff, keeping our senior centers and after-school programs open, and crisis services like MACRO funded.

Our budget comes in response to the widespread and consistent calls from across Oakland’s diverse communities asking us to prioritize funding solutions to the issues that have most directly impacted our residents’ safety and quality of life. Our priorities are also inspired by our belief that Oakland is on the way not only to financial recovery, but also to global recognition. Oakland can attract and preserve businesses of all sizes with safer, cleaner streets. We can and will have more large-scale festivals that celebrate our culture, concerts that uplift our incredible local musicians, conferences that attract patrons from across the world, and award-winning restaurants that top national charts. We are on our way to rebuilding a thriving economy and having a cultural renaissance will create more jobs for Oaklanders while also generating more revenue for the City through sales and business taxes.

I am grateful for the close partnership with our new Mayor Barbara Lee, and know that she shares our values of ensuring we are prioritizing keeping Oakland’s residents safe, our streets clean, and our businesses prosperous in an open and fiscally responsible manner. I am also thankful to our City Administrator, Jestin Johnson, and former Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins’ efforts to produce the initial proposal that our Council budget team used as a starting point for our amendments, and for their shared commitment to transparency and ethical government. I am especially grateful for every resident that took the time to make their voice heard throughout this rigorous budget process. I have no doubt that we are on the verge of true change, and that together we will bring Oakland back to being the world-class city I know it can be.