Fight for $15 Events Set Across Canada
Prince George, B.C.- Communities from Vancouver to Moncton New Brunswick will be taking part in events across the country today to push to have the minimum wage boosted to $15 an hour.
What is surprising is that there is no event scheduled for Prince George.
“We (BC Federation of Labour) really just put the word out there, and really it was up to local folks whether they took that up or not” says B.C. Federation of Labour President Irene Lanzinger, “We just put the information out and let people take it up or not.”
Events are planned for Vancouver, Surrey and Kamloops today.
Even though there is no event in Prince George, Lanzinger says there is progress being made in the push to have the minimum wage increased to $15 dollars an hour.
“This has been a very popular campaign with the public” says Lanzinger “We now have 83% of British Columbians saying that if you work, your pay should take you above the poverty line. We have 76% of British Columbians who support a $15 dollar an hour minimum wage.”
The campaign is being boosted by minimum wage increases to $15 dollar an hour in California, New York and Seattle.
Canada’s economy is still pretty fragile, but Lanzinger says boosting the minimum wage would be good for the economy “If you take a low wage worker, someone earning less than $15 dollars an hour, and you give them a raise, they spend that money in their local economy. It has never been shown that raising the minimum wage is bad for the economy.”
The Province has announced B.C.’s minimum wage will be increased as of September 1st, but there has been no word on how much that increase will be. She says the Provincial Government has recognized that simply raising the minimum wage by the cost of living is not enough “They’ve announced will raise the minimum wage by more than the cost of living. They haven’t said by how much yet, and part of what we are trying to do is try to push that number up. Ten cents, 20 cents, won’t do it, there needs to be a significant increase to the minimum wage and a plan to get to a minimum wage of $15 dollars.”
Comments
Let them eat cake?
I’m in favor of raising the min wage to $15. I don’t know if my customers are going to be in favor of raising prices at our establishment. I would like to be at this event to ask people there if they are willing to fork out an extra 10% for the product or service they consume on a daily basis.
Why not? They will have more income to spend!
better wages is better living. nobody should work for less than $15 an hour. reduce handouts for the needy and maybe some will learn to take care of themselves. Stop giving them fish and start giving them the choice of either take care of yourself or fade away in your own despair.
Well you should pay your employees a living wage! your employees make you money why should they not be compensated accordingly? Employees and employers need each other to profit! Why do people especially employers ‘forget’ this simple fact?
I am completely fine with that. If you are fine with paying more for your goods and services? And if I raise my prices and nobody comes to my establishment because of that? I go broke and nobody has a job. Yes I agree that employers need employees. But it goes both ways. I had such huge respect every single one of my previous employers who had the courage and business smarts to take the chance to build a successful business. That drove me to work as hard as I can and keep moving up until I was in a position to move into management and shareholder. Let’s be honest here. If min wage hits $15 an hour. How many of you are going to go Wendy’s if their everyday value menu items start at $5 each rather than $1.89? If an individual goes into business putting all his life savings and time into that business. Shouldn’t his/her family be the one’s to reap the benefits first and foremost?
Where is the PG Labour Council? Where is CUPE? No event!
Its a nice idea..but not realistic… Raising the minimum wage just causing everything else to increase.. The businesses that have to pay their employees more will raise the price of their goods to cover it.
If you don’t want to work for minimum wage..then do something about it.. take night courses.. save for college etc. anything to get you a better paying job.
Sure, 1000 employees at $10.50/hr or 200 employees at $15.00/hr
I think it should be age restricted, to encourage kids to finish school.
You math is out 1000 at $10.50 is 10,500 per hour. This would be 700 employees at $15.00/hr but I get your point.
Sounds like a good idea on the surface, but then everyone wants a raise. Those who earn 15 now will want 20, 20 will want 25, and on and on. This will lead to increases in prices which leads to inflation. Which means increase in union wages, which also means increase in interest rates to match inflation.
Nothing will really change except in the mean while lots of low wage earners will loose jobs as business try to keep costs down. Do less with more, they will say.
Nice in theory but reality is very different.
$15.00 an hour sounds good, and I think that life would definitely improve for many people.
But there is no escaping the fact that the cost of most goods and services will rise. Fact of life, a business has to be profitable (in other words NOT operated like any of our governments) ;)
It puzzles me why some people just don’t get it. They think that all business owners are rich, and that they never share the riches with employees.
Why should someone who may have risked all for an investment in a business have to suffer privation just to prove to people that they are holy?
There is nothing like a foray into self employment into a legitimate business, with employees and overhead, to bring one’s attention to the realities of life in the world of commerce.
metalman.
You might want to qualify your comment, because most of us cannot see Walmart pleading poverty and not being able to pay their worker $15 per hour. At present they pay their workers such low wages (in the US $7.50 / per hour) that those workers have to augment their measly income with social assistance.
So in a sense the taxpayer is subsidizing Walmart low wages, because Walmart actually encourages their workers to appy for social assistance so they can get by. Some Walmart even set up food banks at their stores specifically for their employees who have large families and can’t get by on $7.50 an hour. If that isn’t the definition of poverty wages…. what is?
And Walmart represent what percentage of the workers in PG? Walmart is an exception rather than the rule.
I worked for a business in PG that pleaded poverty whenever I asked for a raise. I was paid $22.00 an hr as a licensed HD Mechanic. Needless to say that didn’t last long. Could never figure out how he could afford new trucks and HD motorcycles for him and his wife when business was so bad.
I’d love to get a 50% increase in my pension, but would be giddy to get 5 or happy to get 2
Great news!
Now we can finally get the self order kiosks at the fast food joints. Best part is the order will be right or you only have yourself to blame ;-)
If minimum wage is increased to $15 per hour, business will leave BC. Haven’t you heard?
Time for the Walmart,Can.Tire,Home Depot etc to step up to the plate and start paying a living wage or they will soon have to many people on welfare and unable to purchase their goods. I think what is maybe needed is for all the min wage earners to organize and all walk away from their job at the same time and let the s*** hit the fan and then you will see some movement on wages.
OMG isn’t that what unions do?
And you’ll sure see some movement on prices, too. Up, up, up. Who will be advantaged? Will everyone feel better they’re now working with bigger figures? That’s all they’ll be doing. Deeper and deeper in debt, because they still won’t be able to afford to live from the income they earn alone. They’ll have to still borrow, and borrow more, to be able to live.
Yes and they may have to do it again.
socredible– Prices have already been going up up up and the low wage earners are slipping deeper into poverty. The people that are making 30-40 dollars per hr. have been able to weather the storm when prices have increased but the min wage earners are being left in the dust. Maybe you should tell the min wage earners to put more money into an RSP and everything will be fine when the prices rise.
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