Support a Living Wage to Further Economic Opportunity
At Ethix, together with our clients, we believe in using our purchasing power to support the best possible working conditions for factory workers (in the promotional products industry and beyond!).
One project we’re very proud to be a part of is the first ever Union Made, living wage garment factory in Villa Altagracia, Dominican Republic:
Alta Gracia pays its workers enough to allow them to meet basic needs for themselves and their families, including nutritious food, drinkable water, housing and energy, clothing, health care, transportation, education and childcare, as well as modest funds for savings.
Receiving a wage that not only considers the depth of your work, but also considers your future is powerful. Wages that allow for savings, ownership, and self care are a dream for workers earning a minimum wage.
Defining Minimum Wage
State and federal minimum wage varies drastically from state to state and job to job. Consider your state’s minimum wage- it’s calculated with a number of factors. It is supposed to take into account cost of living and is meant to keep those earners out of poverty.
NOTE: There are a whopping five states that don’t currently have minimum wage laws- Alabama, Louisianna, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
What does that mean for a worker in Washington state versus a worker in Mississippi? It means a great deal of dollars and cents to a minimum wage earner, but we’re also talking about quality of life impacts and a worker’s perceived value.
The term “living wage” conjures up a host of images
While prepping this blog I checked a few sources for minimum wage photos or graphics. I was hoping for an image that would grab my readers’ attention, but these results really grabbed mine!
Results page for an iCLIPART search for “minimum wage”. Click on the image below to enlarge:
Further Reading:
