The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette, Springfield Connection, and Potomac Local in the week of September 3, 2018.
Labor Day 2018: Virginia Has a Long Way to Go
Labor
Day this past Monday was a fitting reminder for us to work harder to not only
honor working people in the United States and Virginia, but to strengthen our
economy and supports for employees. Virginia has a long way to go.
Last
week Oxfam America released a study that found that Virginia ranked #51 out of
51 as the best state to be an employee – yes, dead last. This included
rankings of #48 in worker protections, #49 in the right to organize, and #51 in
wage policies. This is troubling news.
Virginia
has done nothing to raise the minimum wage since 2009, when Congress increased
it to $7.25 per hour or about $15,000 per year without time off. In
Northern Virginia, anyone earning $7.25 per hour has to be either supported by
someone else or on government assistance.
