Alabama passes law banning cities and towns from increasing minimum wage

[villager]

Alabama’s governor and legislature Thursday blocked Birmingham’s attempts to raise the city’s minimum wage as they swiftly approved legislation to strip cities of their ability to set hourly pay requirements.

The Alabama senate passed the legislation on a 23-11 vote that largely broke along party lines. Governor Robert Bentley signed the bill into law about an hour later. The legislation voids a Birmingham city ordinance attempting to raise the city’s minimum wage to $10.10, the city’s legal department said Thursday afternoon.

Alabama has no state minimum wage and uses the federal minimum of $7.25. The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since July 2009. An American working full time – 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year – at that wage would earn about $15,080 a year.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, 29 states have raised their minimum wage above the federal minimum wage. There are also 23 local governments that have increased their wages – including those in Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco in California, Chicago in Illinois, Portland in Maine and Seattle in Washington. Only cities have made efforts to raise their minimum wage as high as $15 an hour.

The Obama administration has been supportive of efforts to raise the minimum wage at the local level, the US labor secretary Tom Perez told the Guardian in an interview last year. The administration also supports a proposal currently stuck in Congress that would raise the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020.

<snip>

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/26/alabama-passes-law-banning-minimum-wage-increase?CMP=fb_us

[desmiller]

1. Bastards

[Hydra]

2. This is a great rejoinder to the people supporting the $12 per hour "compromise"

The suggestion some people didn't "need that much" and the states would raise it if appropriate.

Ha!

[moondust]

3. States' rights but not cities' rights?

I'll bet there are plenty of states' rights hypocrites among them demanding more "local control" (but not too local).

[NBachers]

4. Don't want too many of those "Civil Service types" gettin' more money now, do we?

[ladjf]

5. Fascism anyone? nt

[olddots]

6. America may become 50 countries

50 fuedal non civilizations with plenty of diversions from reality .

[IDemo]

7. They are attempting the same here in Idabama

Idaho minimum wage ban bill headed to Senate

Wednesday, February 24th 2016

BOISE, Idaho (AP) A bill that would ban local governments from increasing the minimum wage has advanced to the Idaho Senate.

The Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee voted along party lines Wednesday to send the measure to the Senate floor.

[tenderfoot]

8. Cheap Labor Republicans!

[Melurkyoulongtime]

9. These bastids should have to actually try to live

on the wages they set for everyone else before they should be able to pass garbage like this. They'll have us working for free or US paying THEM for the "privilege" of "working for a living" if we don't stop this somehow

[lpbk2713]

10. Whatever serves to oppress the lower classes.

And gives businesses another advantage.