Wage-hike group scrutinized

[Freddie Stubbs]

ACORN tried to duck minimums

By Nancy Cook Lauer

DEMOCRAT CAPITOL BUREAU CHIEF


The group backing a constitutional amendment on the Nov. 2 ballot to raise Florida's minimum wage tried to get out of paying California's minimum wage for its own employees.

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, filed suit in San Francisco Superior Court in 1995 to exempt itself from the minimum wage, according to court documents. It lost the case and a subsequent appeal.

An ACORN spokeswoman said the case has been misunderstood and used against the group by its political foes.

ACORN, through its Florida office, Floridians for All, collected more than 1 million signatures and passed a Florida Supreme Court review to get Amendment 5 on the Nov.2 ballot. Unions and other ACORN offices have contributed heavily to the cause, bringing the measure's campaign chest to $885,400, according to the state Division of Elections.

more: http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/local/9368600.htm

[DavidFL]

1. Ok, ACORN's argument to justify paying minimum wage was a bit silly..

But it won't stop me from voting for this measure in the fall. I know from personal experience that when you've been working for minimum wage and see how far it gets you, or short should I say, you never forget that. Besides that, I don't think ACORN is the kind of organization that has the budget to pay its workers "exorbitant" salaries. From what I read on ACORN, it sounds like many of its positions are voluntary anyway. Anyway, I would like to see a living wage law, though, and hope they continue to work toward that, but every little bit helps which is why I'll be voting for this measure.

[dryan]

2. Sorry.....

not sure what the agenda is of the original poster, but I am going to vote for this amendment and I urge all registered Floridians to do so too. Lately, I've been hearing a lot about "two Americas", hell, we have "two Floridas". If we want to grow economically, we have to stop marginalizing people and instead give them a boost. The increase is minimal and frankly, people that work at minimum wage type of jobs may be more inclined to stay if they made more too. This would cut down on turnover and training costs to employers. It would also mean that maybe a minimum wage earner could save for a new car (or a newer car), put some money in the bank, etc. I think it would cut down on pilfering as well by employees as well. The people against this say that it "would hurt small businesses", that's not true; the people that are against it are companies like Wal-Mart, 7-11, and Darden that want to keep wages low.