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Idaho Labor Leader Calls for Cooperation to Bring Living Wage Jobs to Idaho
The Alliance for a Just Society’s 15th annual Job Gap Report reveals that the “economic recovery” may not be all that it seems for Idaho’s middle class and state labor leaders are calling on elected officials to focus on these alarming economic trends, which have consequences for all Idahoans.
Three out of four job openings in Idaho in 2012 did not pay a wage high enough to meet the basic needs of one adult and one child. More than half of Idaho’s job openings did not pay a living wage for a single adult. These numbers are up from 2009 and 2011 reports. The report also determined that improving “jobless recovery” numbers mask a negative trend—the loss of 4 million good-paying jobs nationally since 2012, replaced by 3.6 million jobs with wages below $15 an hour.
Rian Van Leuven, President of the Idaho State AFL-CIO, commented on the study, saying “From the standpoint of working people in this state, these numbers are upsetting. Idaho needs to get more competitive to draw what good jobs there are to our state and help our existing businesses to create living wage jobs.”
The Alliance for a Just Society makes several recommendations to combat the negative impacts of the low-wage economic shift, including raising the wage floor, strengthening safety net programs, and protecting low-wage workers from wage theft and high-interest loans.
“Idaho’s lawmakers have a responsibility to protect and support our workforce,” said Van Leuven. “I believe that organized labor can and should be a part of the solution. Businesses may want to come here because Idaho is a great place to live. But what they’re finding is that there aren’t enough job-ready workers here. We can help draw good paying jobs to Idaho by working with policymakers, educators, trade schools and employers to cultivate a better educated, better prepared workforce. We need to focus Idaho on becoming a living wage economy. If not, we will all continue to be held back by an economy in which large numbers of Idahoans have no buying power and earn poverty wages such that they become dependent on taxpayer funded services.”
The Job Gap Report defines a living wage as “short of what it takes to actually make ends meet,” but is instead a threshold for paying for the most basic of expenses. For example, the expense estimates assume that families own only a landline telephone, have no internet service, and two-parent families spend no money on child care. The study examines the economies of ten states and New York City in order to define a living wage for various family types in each state, arguing “that jobs should pay enough to meet basic needs,” is a “fundamental American value.” Idaho’s living wage is $14.49 per hour for a single adult. In a family of two adults and two children, both adults must earn $17.69 an hour to make a living wage, assuming that both work 40 hours per week and both have healthcare.
The Idaho State AFL-CIO represents more than 11,000 members, providing a voice for working families to ensure fair pay, safety, and dignity in the workplace.
Please get involved and get active in your Local Union and work to improve conditions for Idaho workers. Also visit the website and the Facebook page and get active improving the quality of life for ALL Idahoans by working to “Raise the Minimum Wage” in Idaho.
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