EARN Notice January 2025

EARN friends,

I hope everyone took some time this holiday season to relax and recharge! Good luck to everyone who is diving into a new legislative season. We can’t say for certain what challenges we will face this year, but we know that state policy will be more important than ever for securing meaningful gains for working families and for giving us glimmers of hope amid setbacks at the federal level. I am encouraged by the belief that through our collective power we can help strengthen our states against hateful and exploitative politics.

One such battle is going down in Michigan where conservative lawmakers are once again trying to undermine the phase-out of the tipped minimum wage. Seven years after conservative Michigan lawmakers undermined a ballot measure that—if passed—would have increased the state’s minimum wage and gradually eliminated the lower tipped minimum wage, a Michigan Supreme Court decision is slated to go into effect next month to reinstate the ballot measure’s benefits for low-wage workers. However, conservative state lawmakers are considering new legislation to preserve the subminimum tipped wage, which would weaken pay increases for Michigan’s nearly 100,000 tipped workers.

I look forward to continuing to work with y’all on minimum wage work this year. While 21 states increased their minimum wage on January 1, too many workers still earn less than a living wage. This is particularly true in the 20 states that still use the federal minimum wage. The new HHS poverty guidelines confirm that even for a single adult working full-time year-round, the federal minimum wage is officially a poverty wage.

Pretty bleak! But I know there are many states and cities pushing the boundaries in this area and I look forward to hearing about all your successes in the coming months. In the meantime, I send strength to those who find themselves walking in the snow.

Solidarity,

Sebastian Martinez Hickey
State Economic Analyst

New Publications

Upcoming EARN Events

Unions 101 will discuss what unions do, who today’s union members are, and why state labor policy matters for racial, gender, and economic justice and democracy. Whether you’re new to working with unions or have years of experience, we invite you to bring your questions, ideas, and experience to this interactive Zoom workshop to discuss the roles unions play in the workplace and economy, how state policies shape workers’ union rights, and opportunities to deepen labor partnerships in state issue campaigns.  

• Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUqcuCurjwpGtxEiG_hgWpG_Ozr_uSAkyfm

ICYMI: Recent EARN Events

Community Benefits Agreements: An EARN Network Strategy Discussion: On December 12th, 2024 we hosted this discussion covering the history of community benefits agreements, how recent federal investments have opened up new opportunities to pursue CBAs, and how EARN groups can play key roles in building coalitions to fight for and win strong CBAs.    

Recording: Community Benefits Agreement: An EARN Network Strategy Discussion 
Passcode: !U0H##AM 
Quick Guide to CBAs
   

EARN 101: We hosted this workshop on January 14th, 2025, for those who may be new to the EARN community or are less familiar with the EARN network to learn about the resources we provide and how we work with an array of partners (union, grassroots, state and local government) to advance worker power and racial and gender justice. This webinar also included a demo of some of our data resources and offered guidance on how staff can take advantage of EPI's and the network's deep well of expertise. 

Recording: EARN 101
Passcode: @Rfght#3
Webinar Slides