Category: Local News

Fair Minimum Wage Act increases minimum wage to $10.10 over two years

 

WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) signed a discharge petition to require an immediate vote on a bill to lift the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.  The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 (H.R. 1010), which he cosponsors, will raise the purchasing power of minimum wage salaries to help working families afford more basic necessities. This, however, is still less than the $10.74 the minimum wage would be were it adjusted for inflation since its high of $10.56 in 1968. A discharge petition needs the support of 218 members to force a vote. So far 155 members have signed this petition.

 

“After the worst recession in a generation, our economic recovery has left many working families behind,” Himes said. “People who work hard should not have to struggle to meet their basic needs. They deserve and need a vote on this bill.”

 

The legislation introduces a scaled increase in the minimum wage, raising it to $8.20 per hour three months after passage, $9.20 after one year, and $10.10 after two years. The bill also gives the Secretary of Labor authority to increase the minimum wage based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) if warranted up to every three years. Finally, the bill increases tipped minimum wage to $3.00 per hour and also introduces a formula to increase tipped minimum wage as necessary to keep it at 70% of the overall minimum wage.

 

“The economic benefits of raising the minimum wage reach far beyond any individual family. When a working family brings in more money, that’s more they have to spend on necessities like groceries and gas, which they otherwise would have had to go without,” Himes said. “This creates demand in the marketplace, which help our businesses to grow and hire more workers. It is well past time we increased the minimum wage to help working families struggling to make ends meet and give our economy as a whole the boost it needs.”

 

Background

 

Income inequality has grown steadily since the 1980s, with $1.1 trillion in annual income shifting to the top one percent of households between 1979 and 2007. This wealth gap, according to chief economists at the Senate Banking Committee, has led to increasing pessimism among the American workforce, which in turn has fueled declines in labor force participation, productivity, and the pace of economic recovery. On the other hand, several studies

over the past decade have shown that increasing the minimum wage increases worker productivity and reduces employee turnover. And contrary to arguments that raising the minimum wage will kill jobs, recent studies show that increasing the minimum wage has no significant effect on employment levels.

 

Studies also show that raising the minimum wage boosts the economy by giving working class families more money to spend on the things they need. In 2011, the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank found

that every dollar increase for a minimum wage worker results in $2,800 in new consumer spending over the following year.

 

The federal minimum wage was last re-set on July 24, 2009, at $7.25 per hour. This is lower than it was in the 1960s, when the minimum wage was equal to $10.56 in 2012 dollars, even though worker productivity has increased since then. A full-time worker earning $7.25 per hour will make $290 per week and $15,080 per year, or approximately 125% of the poverty threshold. With many minimum wage jobs not providing benefits and the costs of healthcare continuing to rise, it is essentially impossible for these workers to make ends meet from week to week.

Learn about early photographic portraits and Connecticut female photographers

During March, The Barnum Museum is offering programs to help us understand the history of early photography and how to identify the techniques and other clues that help us date old photographs of our ancestors. Please be advised to check the museum’s website barnum-museum.org

or Facebook should weather concerns arise. Snow dates for each program will be posted on the website.

Wednesday, March 5 at 12:15 p.m. – Sneak Peek Portraits of the Past: Identifying and Dating Photographs of Ancestors, presented by the Museum’s curator, Adrienne Saint-Pierre. This continuing series offers opportunities to see rarely-exhibited items from the Museum’s collection. Attendees are invited to bring their lunch. $2 Donation.

This month the focus will be on early photographs, such as daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, and albumen prints. Saint-Pierre will give an overview of photography from the 1840s to the early 1900s, showing examples of the different methods employed.  Melissa Houston, Museum registrar, and Saint-Pierre will point out clues that help determine the date of a photograph, including its format and the clothing fashions and hairstyles of the subject. Attendees are welcome to bring a photograph of an ancestor (pre-“snapshot” era), and staff will help establish the date or date range.

Woman in Kimono , Photo by Harriet V. S. Thorne, ca. 1900

Sunday, March 9 at 2 p.m.– In celebration of Women’s History Month, The Barnum Museum will offer a program Through a Different Lens: 19th Century Women Photographers in Connecticut. The illustrated talk will be presented by Tasha Caswell, and will feature Bridgeport photographer Harriet V.S. Thorne. Thorne is one of the three women photographers in the Connecticut Historical Society’s current exhibition, Through a Different Lens. $5 Donation.

In the late nineteenth century, a time when it was rare for a woman to be a photographer, Thorne had a studio and darkroom in the Black Rock area of Bridgeport. The intimate portraits she made of her wealthy family and friends depict a Gilded Age lifestyle that is long gone. She was full of surprises, too. Among her carefully posed portraits there are images that capture spontaneous moments, as well as photographs of African-Americans and members of the Seminole tribe in Florida.

Tasha Caswell, Curator of the Connecticut Historical Society exhibition, is a Graphics Cataloger and Project Researcher at the CHS. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Photographic Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University. In addition to speaking about Thorne, Caswell will relate the stories of two other Connecticut women photographers featured in the show, Marie Kendall and Rosalie Thorne McKenna. She will discuss why it was unusual for women to practice photography in the 1800s, and how things changed throughout twentieth century as sociological, cultural and technological advances were made.

Through a Different Lens is on view at the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford until March 29, 2014. The CHS is located at One Elizabeth Street in Hartford, Conn and the galleries are open Tuesday-Friday: noon – 5:00 p.m. and Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Information about admissions, directions, parking and groups is available at http://chs.org/page.php?id=498

.WHAT: The Barnum Museum’s March programs WHEN: Various see above. All events are free for museum members WHERE: The Barnum Museum, 820 Main Street, Bridgeport in the People’s United Bank Gallery, entry located at the back of the historic building COST: Various see above, however Barnum Museum members are always free Call for more information 203-331-1104 ext.100, M-F from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) will host a “Computer-Side Chat” Thursday at 4:30 p.m. with blogger Bob Adams of connecticutbob.com

. The Google Hangout will be live-streamed on the Congressman’s YouTube page and can be watched here. Questions can be submitted to the Congressman by commenting on that page.

 

WHO:                    Congressman Jim Himes

  Bob Adams, Connecticut blogger “CT Bob”

  Reporters and constituents welcome to tune in

 

WHAT:                  “Computer-side Chat” Google Hangout

 

WHEN:                  Thursday, February 27 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

 

WHERE:                Tune in at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu_cFdWggcI

The Westport Police Youth Collaborative announced today that they will be holding

a Middle School Cop Shop at Toquet Hall on Tuesday, March 4 from 6:30-7:45 p.m.

This month’s topic is “Social Media and The Law: What every kid needs to know about

their rights and responsibilities in a digital world.” Westport Detective Sereniti Dobson

will be accompanied by other officers and Jen Cirino, Coordinator of Information

& Technology Literacy for the Westport Public Schools. The interactive panel will

give real-world examples of how the improper use of social media can have long-term

consequences for kids.

Cop Shops are informal, round table discussions between police officers and kids with

the intent of building supportive relationships and a better understanding between parties.

Middle through high school aged youth are invited to share a meal with local officers

while learning more about social media and personal responsibility. There will be plenty

of time for questions and answers about anything a young person may want to ask of

an officer. This is a great opportunity for officers to get to know more young people in

our community in a non-enforcement capacity and for kids to get to know the men and

women who serve our community.

“A partnership of the Department of Human Services and the Westport Police

Department, The Westport Police-Youth Collaborative (WPYC) seeks to foster respect

and understanding between cops and kids in Town by creating opportunities for them to

plan and implement programs which they believe will help foster communication and

build trust with one another.” said Elaine Daignault, an adult advisor to the group.

Past events spearheaded by high school students on the Westport Youth Commission

and Westport Officers Detective Sereniti Dobson and DARE Officer Ned Batlin have

provided many opportunities for community building among cops and kids including

such events as: the Westport Youth Commission Volleyball Smackdown tournament

during the May Homes with Hope annual Castles in the Sand event at Compo Beach,

annual Dodge-a-Cop events (scheduled for April 1st

raise funds for local non-profits and other events and opportunities for kids to spend time

with officers.

, 2014 at Staples High School) to

For more information on the Westport Police-Youth Collaborative or to get involved

contact Elained@westportct.gov.