Belabored Podcast #79: On Board for $15

Irene Tung of the National Employment Law Project explains Andrew Cuomo’s new wage board, an unconventional way that New York fast food workers might see a raise. Plus, audio from the Walmart shareholders meeting.

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It’s been a big couple of weeks for low-wage workers: the Fight for $15 convention, new cities moving to $15 an hour (or discussing it), the Walmart shareholders meeting and attendant protests, new reports on the conditions of workers of color in retail, and the first wage board hearing here in New York State. Irene Tung of the National Employment Law Project testified before the wage board, and joins us this week to talk about this unconventional way that New York fast food workers might see a raise.

We also discuss Walmart and hear from the workers who traveled to Bentonville to make their voices heard (and confront their CEO), look at Hillary Clinton’s words to the Fight for $15 convention, and get an update on what’s happening in Bangladesh two years after the Rana Plaza collapse. And for “Argh” we think about one of our favorite subjects: the corporatization of the university and its discontents.

News

Michelle: $1,000 for a Dead Family Member—Is That Justice for Bangladesh’s Garment Workers? (The Nation)

Michelle: This Is Black Friday in Bangladesh (The Nation)

Sarah: Workers Confront Walmart Executives at Star-Studded Company Event (Truthout)

Michelle: How the Retail Industry Keeps People of Color in Poverty (The Nation)

Clinton backs labor, hints at $15 minimum wage (Vox)

Slay seeks to raise minimum wage in St. Louis to $15 an hour (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Ferguson Commission hears of economic struggles (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Conversation:

Irene Tung, National Employment Law Project

Cuomo Says He Will Create Labor Board To Investigate Fast Food Wages (The Albany Project)

Michelle: The Fight For $15 Just Won a Powerful Supporter: Governor Cuomo (The Nation)