Fight. Strike. Vote. via @FightFor15 — Best of the Left Activism

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Fight Strike Vote — the Fight for $15 Voter Pledge.

The Fight for $15 campaign has had a busy year with wins in Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York and with measures before city councils and on ballots to raise the minimum wage. While $15 an hour is still short of a true living wage, it is more than double the federal rate of $7.25 an hour which no one — single or supporting a family — can live on in any corner of the country. It also keeps the pressure on places like Rhode Island and Maryland which recently enacted increases that fall short of $15.

According to Michelle Chen’s reporting at The Nation, almost half of all American workers make less than $15 and hour. As the movement has gotten increasingly intersectional — emphasizing the disproportionate affect on women and people of color, they have also gotten more political. Strikes last month ahead of Black Friday and the launch of the holiday shopping season featured workers declaring “Come get my vote.”

Now you can add your support to their campaign.

At FightFor15.org you’ll find the "Fight for $15 Voter Pledge” created with the SEIU. It states “I’m ready to join millions of Americans to build a better future for everyone who works. I pledge to vote for candidates who support the Fight for $15 Voter Agenda in 2016.” That agenda includes:

$15 *AND* union rights;
Affordable child care;
Quality long-term care;
Addressing racism toward Black America; and
Immigration reform.

With the holidays around the corner, it’s also a good time to remind people to shop locally and use the #ShopLocal hashtag to post on social media when you frequent places in your community. If you need to shop at the big box stores — and a lot of us have to because of limited finances — you can use the Think Progress guide in the segment notes to see which stores force their employees to work on the holidays and which give them time off with their families.

TAKE ACTION:

SIGN: the Fight for $15 Vote Pledge

POST: when you buy holiday gifts in your community, tag stores and purchases with #ShopLocal to encourage others to do the same.

Additional Activism/Resources:

SUPPORT good business by using the Think Progress "Holiday Shopping Guide" to see which companies force employees to work holidays.

Sources/further reading:

”Almost Half of All American Workers Make Less Than $15 an Hour” by Michelle Chen at The Nation

"Republicans divided by income over government’s role in ‘safety net’ issues” via Pew Research Center

"Stronger Unions Are the Way to Rebalance Our Economy” by Dorian Warren via Newsweek

"Walmart Threatens City Council For Considering Minimum Wage Increase” at ThinkProgress

"How One City Is Making Sure Bosses Comply With Wage Theft and Paid Sick Leave Laws” at In These Times

"Truth Needle: Is $15 wage dooming Seattle restaurants? Owners say no” at The Seattle Times