For Immediate Release: June 30, 2020
Contacts:
Elizabeth Falcon, 202-674-2872, elizabeth@dcjwj.org
Joanna Blotner, 202-427-2376, joanna@jufj.org
DC Celebrates Launch of Paid Family Leave, $15/hour Minimum Wage
These laws will make workers healthier and more financially stable, just in time for safe reopening.
WASHINGTON, DC — July 1, 2020 marks a major milestone for workers in DC. Tomorrow, DC will be the first ‘state’ in the country to pay workers a $15/hour minimum wage and will become just the sixth jurisdiction to guarantee workers paid leave from work to care for a new child, an ill family member, or a worker’s own serious health condition. Tipped workers’ base pay will also increase to $5/hour. In the midst of a devastating health crisis and a national uprising demanding long overdue justice and an end to racist policing, these milestones are cause to celebrate.
To mark tomorrow’s worker rights milestones, DC Jobs with Justice, convener of the Just Pay Coalition, will host a “know your rights” webinar to help District residents, workers, and employers understand local laws regarding paid leave, paid sick days, a $15/hour wage, wage theft prevention, job protection, and more. The webinar will be conducted via Zoom and take place Wednesday, July 1, 4:00 - 5:30 PM; attendees can register at bit.ly/July_1 or watch the webinar via a live stream on the Restaurant Opportunities Center DC’s facebook page. Spanish and Amharic translation will be available. Attorney General Karl Racine will give introductory remarks; his office has been fighting to protect workers against wage theft. Dr. Unique Morris-Hughes, Director of the Department of Employment Services, will also join the webinar to answer questions and provide closing remarks.
“Better pay and leave benefits could not come at a better time for frontline workers who have been risking so much for the District these past few months,” said Dyana Forester, President of the Metro Washington Council of AFL-CIO & Director of Political and Community Affairs at UFCW Local 400. “The union community was proud to be part of the fight to win a $15 minimum wage and paid family and medical leave laws that improve the lives of working families throughout the metro area.”
“The work of economic justice in this country is one of racial justice,” said Elizabeth Falcon, Executive Director, DC Jobs With Justice. “The pandemic has laid bare the essential work done by minimum wage workers, as well as the critical need to take time off because of a health emergency or major family event. Black and immigrant workers are more likely to have to report to work outside the home, and have therefore been exposed to the virus at higher rates. As more restaurant, retail, and hospitality workers return to jobs, a $15 minimum wage and paid leave benefits provide the basic compensation all workers deserve. We have been fighting for years for higher wages and better enforcement of our local labor laws to protect vulnerable workers and are proud to see this hard work paying off in ways that will advance a just recovery.”
“This pandemic has demonstrated how immensely vulnerable we all are to illness, and reinforced how important it is to care for one another in a crisis,” said Joanna Blotner, Legislative Director for DC Family and Economic Security Campaigns at Jews United for Justice. “The US was caught flat-footed in this pandemic in part because of woefully inadequate paid leave laws. With the launch of DC’s paid family and medical leave insurance program, we are helping to change that. Paid leave not only allows you to care for yourself and for those you love, it also strengthens public health and makes our economy more resilient. JUFJ has been proud to play a leading role in passing and implementing this program.”
The District passed laws in 2016 phasing in the implementation of the $15/hour minimum wage and a paid family and medical leave insurance program after years of organizing and advocacy by community organizations, labor unions, and District workers. The hard work to win and defend these advances for working families shows that public persistence can bring about change. There is more work to do to create full racial and economic justice in the District’s workplaces, but these advances are a step in the right direction.
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The Metropolitan Washington Council is the AFL-CIO Central Labor Council for the DC region and shares their mission to organize in the community to promote social justice for all working people. The Metro Washington Council works with nearly 200 affiliated union locals and community, religious, student, and political allies to improve the lives of workers and their families throughout the greater metro Washington area.
DC Jobs With Justice is a dynamic coalition of labor organizations, community groups, faith-based organizations, and student groups dedicated to protecting the rights of working people, supporting community struggles, and promoting racial justice to build a more just society. DCJWJ has been a lead partner on campaigns to raise wages, create paid leave, and enforce local labor laws.
Jews United for Justice mobilizes the Jewish community to move the region closer to social, racial, and economic justice by advancing campaigns for immediate and concrete improvements in people’s lives. JUFJ was an anchor organization for the DC Paid Family Leave Campaign.