(ellison.house.gov)
U.S. Rep. has figured out how to push $15/hour for fast food workers: by politicizing funding for military bases and commissaries.
People’s World hails Ellison’s action:
Repeating a win he first gained several weeks ago, Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., and the Congressional Progressive Caucus tacked a ban on federal contracts to firms that engage in wage theft onto yet another money bill. But this was a big one: The $500 billion-plus Defense Department spending plan for the year starting Oct. 1.
If Ellison’s move survives the rest of the congressional gauntlet, it could aid tens of thousands of fast food workers at commissaries and in mini-malls on defense bases who now see their employers – McDonald’s, KFC, Domino’s Pizza and the like – underpay them.
Labor-backed Good Jobs Nation has been in the forefront of the drive to raise fast food workers’ wages, especially at federal sites. The workers also demand decent benefits, regular hours and the right to organize without employer interference.
People’s World reports Ellison’s similar amendments to other department funding bills passed by voice vote.
