Megan Baker: Families hang in the balance while wages remain stagnant

Recently the Alliance for a Just Society released its report, “Equity in the Balance,” examining the percentage of women and people of color who don’t earn a living wage. The report includes an analysis of how history and past policies have perpetuated low pay in jobs and industries where women and people of color are most likely to be employed.

The report finds that a staggering percentage of full-time workers aren’t making ends meet and can’t support a family. Women and people of color are concentrated in occupations with low earnings, such as retail clerks, cashiers, waiters and waitresses, maids, housecleaners and child care workers. These are workers we know, these are people we see every day.

The percentage of people in Florida who are working full-time and not being paid enough to support themselves, much less a small family, is unconscionable. As an owner of Orange Blossom Jamboree Events, my business depends on my customers’ ability to afford to come to one of our events. When families are struggling to put food on their tables, they can’t even think about how they will spend their weekend. My business and the vendors I work with suffer when families can’t afford to enjoy their weekend together at one of our music and art festivals.

It is a basic value in America: If you work full-time, you are able to support yourself and your family.  In the November election, from San Francisco to Arkansas, in blue states and in red states, voters supported minimum wage increases. The federal minimum wage must be raised to help struggling families throughout the country, and we need to close the wage gap for women and people of color.  For small businesses like mine to survive, working families need to thrive.

Megan Baker is a member of the Main Street Alliance, an affiliate of the Alliance for a Just Society. The full report, The Job Gap: Equity in the Balance, can be found at TheJobGap.org. Column courtesy of Context Florida.