What do local governments do?

Ask most anyone, and you’ll get similar answers: run schools, clean parks, collect garbage, clear snow, etc. Increasingly, though, that framework is changing: Cities are also becoming champions of workers’ rights.

There’s a notable surge of action by cities and other localities in advancing workers’ rights, as documented in a report we wrote that was issued recently. Some cities and counties are now seeing worker protection as one of their core functions.

For example, Seattle’s City Council last month passed legislation protecting delivery workers for gig companies GrubHub, Instacart and others. The new law sets a minimum wage for these workers, requires companies to be transparent about pay and tips, and bans companies from punishing workers for rejecting jobs.

Last year, New York City passed a law covering some of the same ground. Local organizations, Working Washington in Seattle and Los Deliveristas Unidos in New York City, helped catalyze both laws.

Enhancing Workers’ Rights

Want higher wages? While the federal minimum wage lingers at $7.25 per hour, the same as it’s been for thirteen years, 52 localities have enacted higher local minimum wages, including many in the $15 range. Since 2012, local minimum wage increases have affected over 4 million workers, generating around $7,800 of additional annual income per worker.

How about paid sick leave, or predictable work schedules? Twenty localities have laws requiring employers to provide...

Read Full Story: https://www.route-fifty.com/management/2022/06/local-governments-advancing-wo...