Failing To Pay A Living Wage
I expect an immediate coast-to-coast caravan to protest this grave injustice. The perpetrators of this travesty of the American dream must be brought down at once? Wal-Mart? Nope, they pay really well compared to the real evil-doers.
John Dedering worked for Grassroots Campaigns for about a month last year and again this year. He says the company paid a satisfactory base wage in 2005, when he canvassed for Environmental Action, but this year switched to a new system, dropping his wages to less than minimum.
Juan Ruiz says he put in about 45 hours working at Grassroots Campaigns for five days this year, and was paid just $56. And Miles Kristan produces pay stubs for two two-week periods, during which he says he typically worked 50 hours per week. One is for $339.81, the other for $281.50. Before taxes.
We have heard plenty of outrage from Congressional Democrats this year over the length of time since the last minimum-wage hike. Ted Kennedy and Barbara Boxer have railed about how minimum-wage workers have not had a raise in seven years, somehow neglecting to mention that the minimum wage is a transitional wage only and that raises come as part of a performance reward system when one stays at a job.
Their rationalization for breaking the law is laughable. Their contractor, Grassroots Campaigns, argues that special rules apply to canvassers that allow them to pay commission-based compensation. GC also acknowledges that they do not pay for employee time spent during orientation, claiming another exemption. Neither exemption exists, and even if they did, Democrats still would need to explain why they would support any system that paid $56 in wages for 45 hours of work.
This is the worst form of hypocrisy. My guess is the Democrats will try to dissociate themselves saying it was just a contractor. But why would they contract with a company that is abusing people worse than the company they all have their sights set on?
