After voters approved an initiative that would raise the wages of tipped workers to eventually match the city’s minimum wage, a Democrat-dominated Washington, D.C. Council voted to repeal the initiative 8 to 5. Initiative 77 was approved in June by 55 percent of voters and would match the regular minimum wage by 2026.
While Initiative 77 was thought to target wage theft and protect “economically vulnerable workers,” the D.C. restaurant industry aggressively lobbied lawmakers to repeal the initiative, Common Dreams reported.
“It is incredibly sad to see the Council representing one of the most progressive cities in the country siding with the wealthy restaurant industry over their own constituents, particularly people of color who overwhelmingly voted for this ballot measure,” Patriotic Millionaires said in a statement.
Bernie releases statement on Amazon minimum wage increase
As a harsh critic of Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Sen. Bernie Sanders issued a statement Tuesday congratulating the world’s wealthiest man for increasing Amazon’s minimum wage to $15 for all full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal employees across the U.S. Last month, Bernie and Rep. Ro Khanna of California introduced legislation forcing major corporations to either pay workers a living wage or pay for the public assistance programs like Medicaid, food stamps, and public housing that their employees are forced to pay.
Working with Rep. Khanna, Sanders introduced the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies (BEZOS) Act last month in an attempt to end corporate welfare by establishing a 100 percent tax on corporations with 500 or more employees equal to the amount of federal benefits received by their low-wage workers. For example, if a worker at Amazon receives $2,000 in food stamps, the corporation would be taxed $2,000 to cover that cost.
Trump makes fun of Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford at unhinged rally
During a campaign rally in Mississippi on Tuesday evening, President Donald Trump mocked Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who testified to Congress last week that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh attempted to rape her in high school.
The audience – attending the event in support of Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), the first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress – loudly cheered as the president mimicked Dr. Ford’s testimony. “How did you get home? I don’t remember. How’d you get there? I don’t remember. Where is the place? I don’t remember. How many years ago was it? I don’t know.”
The video of Trump mocking Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony at his rally. Remember, aides were initially surprised at his restraint on the matter. pic.twitter.com/p75xQrDeJD
— andrew kaczynski🧐 (@KFILE) October 3, 2018
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