15 NOW HAS BECOME A NATIONAL MOVEMENT

Many people strongly support 15 Now, but some seemingly have gotten on the 15 Now bandwagon, including some people who always oppose propositions favorable to working people.  Don’t be fooled by some of this fake support.  They know labor is waking up and will no longer tolerate a less than living wage.  Labor has come to realize that landlords, drug manufacturers, mega food peddlers, and other large companies have kept raising prices and enhancing their profits that mainly benefit CEOs and stockholders, but have kept labor costs down.  This has been going on for years.  Some of these fake supporters are mouthing 15 Now, but want to stretch out the advances as long as ten years to reach that level.  The way inflation is going, minimum wages by then will need to be at least $30 per hour for a living wage.

Don’t be fooled by this false rhetoric.  The 15 Now is just catch-up on a modest scale.  These exploited folks have been working for less than a living wage for ten years or more while prices and profits have been escalating to the advantage of the few.  Rents won’t wait and other costs of living have not waited, so why should labor have to wait.  For a living wage, $15 per hour is needed right now.

Some in the 15 Now movement have acknowledged such an immediate raise would place an undue hardship on small business and suggest that for small business, the raise should be spread over the next three years, but not a longer period.  Then business plays games by saying small businesses should include firms that have up to 200 employees.  Poppycock!  For purposes of the 15 Now campaign, only firms with less than 50 employees should come under the three-year stretch out; all other firms should be immediate.  Their CEOs have not waited.  Rent has not waited so why should labor wait.  This is catch-up.

Strong rumors have developed that war chests of up to $30 million are being put together to fight this 15 Now, most likely to come in at the last moment to confuse people if the matter comes to a people’s vote.  Big Bucks developed war chests of $20 million to fight labeling of GMOs and $3million to fight $15 per hour at SeaTac with only 6,000 workers concerned.  15 Now is not just a local Seattle movement, but it is national with cities waking up all over America with all eyes on Seattle.  You can image the efforts big business will expend to defeat this matter.  As mentioned big business did the same thing to defeat the labeling bill on GMOs by confusing people.  Anyone with brains of a gnat should know that we have a right to know what goes into foods peddled to us that we put in our bodies.  Yet big money with a last minute media blitz was able to confuse people so the initiative failed to pass.  Big Bucks will try to do the same thing with 15 Now.  So let’s be wary of their last minute confusing tactics and let’s remember at the next election time how legislative representatives voted on the 15 Now issue.

Copyleft 2014 J. Glenn Evans

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