Motley Moose – Archive

Found on the Internets …

Millions Of Workers Will Get A Raise On New Years Day

On January 1, 20 states will raise their minimum wages, while one – New York – will increase its wage on Wednesday.

That means that all told, 3.1 million American workers will ring in the New Year with a pay raise.

Higher wages also put more money into low-wage workers’ pockets, alleviating poverty while boosting economic growth when they go out and spend it.

Illinois governor pardons 1800s abolitionists

Three Illinois abolitionists who were convicted for anti-slavery efforts in the 1800s were posthumously pardoned Wednesday by Gov. Pat Quinn. […]

Efforts to pardon the three were spearheaded by Quincy historians and Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon, who filed petitions on their behalf last year as part of a special project. Among them was an Underground Railroad conductor – Dr. Richard Eells -whose Quincy home was declared by the U.S. National Park Service as one of the nation’s most important sites on the covert network that led escaped slaves to freedom and safety. […]

Illinois residents voted to abolish slavery in 1824. However, state and federal law prohibited the harboring or assisting of runaway slaves in free states.

More …

The President’s Weekly Address post is also the Weekend Open News Thread. Feel free to share other news stories in the comments.

From the White House – Weekly Address

In this week’s address, the President highlights small business owners across the country acting to raise wages for their workers, and calls on Congress to give America a raise so more hard-working Americans have the opportunity to get ahead.

The President’s Weekly Address post is also an Open News Thread. Feel free to share other news stories in the comments.

From the White House – Weekly Address

In this week’s address, Vice President Biden discusses the importance of raising the federal minimum wage. It’s good for workers, it’s good for business, and it would help close the gender pay gap, as women make up more than half of the workers who stand to benefit from a raise. And as the Vice President highlights, Congress should boost the federal minimum wage because it is what a majority of the American people want.

The President’s Weekly Address post is also the Weekend Open News Thread. Feel free to share other news stories in the comments.

From the White House – Weekly Address

In this week’s address, President Obama highlights the importance of making sure our economy rewards the hard work of every American – including America’s women.

The President’s Weekly Address post is also the Weekend Open News Thread. Feel free to share other news stories in the comments.

From the White House – Weekly Address

In this week’s address, President Obama highlighted the momentum building across the country to give Americans a raise and reiterated his call for Congress to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10. The President has already signed an executive order to raise the minimum wage for people working under new federal contracts. Companies large and small are choosing to give workers a raise because they know it’s good business. And Governors across the country are answering the President’s call by working to raise their states’ minimum wages. Now, it’s time for Congress to get the job done and restore opportunity for all Americans by raising the minimum wage to “ten-ten.”

The President’s Weekly Address post is also the Weekend Open News Thread. Feel free to share other news stories in the comment threads.

From the White House – Weekly Address

In this week’s address, President Obama says this is a year of action, and he will do everything he can to restore opportunity for all. The President already lifted the wages for federal contract workers, and he calls on the American people to tell Congress to finish the job by boosting the federal minimum wage for all workers to $10.10 and give America a raise.

From the White House – Weekly Address

This week, President Obama took action to lift more workers’ wages by requiring that federal contractors pay their employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour. In this week’s address, he highlights that executive action and calls on Congress to pass a bill to raise the federal minimum wage for all workers.

Edited to add:  I didn’t mean to do it!  I didn’t uncheck the box that says put this on the front page and OMG look where it wound up!  Please, someone who can, move it over to the sidebar where it belongs!

Over at Booman Tribune I got linked into this happy story at Huffpo:  

White House Brings Minimum Wage, Overtime Protections To 2 Million Home Care Workers

It’s definitely a BFD for the many hard-working, unappreciated, peon-wages-paid folks who take care of the most vulnerable among us.  As the article says,

In a move that will change working conditions for two million Americans, the Labor Department announced Tuesday the enactment of a new rule that will extend minimum wage and overtime protections to home care workers, one of the fastest-growing occupations in the country.

As of Jan. 1, 2015, the long-awaited change will end a 38-year-old carveout that excluded workers who attend to the elderly and disabled in their homes from the basic labor protections enjoyed by most Americans.

“Now, waitaminnit”, I hear you say, “just where do the giant puppets come into this?”  Thusly: