Minimum wage advocates struggle to walk the talk: Editorial (Oregonian stumbles into truth!)

Oregonian ^ | 07/06/2015 | Oregonian

[aimhigh]

. . . .
Consider what happened in Los Angeles. Last month, the city council approved a five-year plan to boost the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Late in the campaign for that increase, labor unions, which had led the push for a higher wage, made a surprising request: They wanted collectively bargained contracts to be exempt from the new standard. The mayor said no, but some other cities have such exemptions and the issue is unlikely to go away in Los Angeles.

The unions' request reflects realities of both economics and politics. Politically, the $15 wage push is, in part, a response to declining unionization. Unions trust themselves to negotiate a fair wage but they don't trust employers to pay unrepresented workers fairly. That is hardly a new sentiment, but seeking government mandates has become easier than organizing workforces.

The requests for exemptions also seek to give unions wiggle room they are not offering non-union businesses. If they thought a $15 wage would hurt workers because of layoffs or reduced hours, they would be able to negotiate a lower wage.

[aimhigh]

The union exemption is a way to grow union membership. By allowing union contracts to be exempt, employers are economically coerced to become unionized in order to pay lower wages. Quite the scam.

[Pontiac]

Great news for low skill workers.

Not only do they not get the new minimum wage but they also get to pay union dues (for which they get next to nothing).

[jettester]

Plus, never forget that the amount of the money they dig out of their members is an hourly figure - the higher the number, the more they get in their coffers.

[goodnesswins]

Oregon ping

[Blood of Tyrants]

People will lose their jobs and lives will be ruined, but the Rats don’t care. They have welfare and food stamps for everyone who gets laid off.

[grundle]

Thanks for posting this hilarious example of minimum wage hypocrisy.

[Organic Panic]

Those $15 idiots from Washington and Oregon are infesting Idaho. They know the agriculture industry will be hurt by all the farms on our side of the border being half the cost of Oregon produce. SO, rather than admit to economic principles, they are trying to change Idaho to $15 an hour. better yet they say this is why the nation needs a national $15 an hour minimum wage.

[Kickass Conservative]

I guess this means if I go to the Original Tommy’s on Beverly, my Chili Tamale will cost $10 rather than the $3.50 it does today.

I guess the only Tommy’s I’ll be going to are the ones in Orange County where I live.

I still have to get to the Pantry Downtown one of these days for Breakfast. It’s been years, so I had better beat the new Minimum Age implementation.

I swear, Liberals can figure out a way to ruin a Wet Dream.

[kearnyirish2]

In my area it has never been easier to get fast food (due to the lack of customers); between some people getting more health-conscious, and (more importantly) many others having no money left for this stuff, this is the kiss of death for fast-food workers. It is no accident that McDonald’s stock is in trouble; near me they added an extra lane for ordering just as the customers dried up. A nearby KFC just closed, and there seems to be a disconnect between the large chains and the swarms of Hispanics that are the new customer base. Their restaurants don’t have any employees getting a pay stub (or $15 per hour)...