Seattle Poised To Adopt $15 Min Wage
Seattle mayor announces deal for $15 minimum wage. NYT: "...more than twice the federal minimum wage and one of the highest anywhere in the nation, through a series of complex and phased-in stages. Just as crucially, he said, the plan has broad political support, with a coalition of labor and business groups ready to push hard for it at the City Council ... Kshama Sawant, a Socialist Alternative Party [city council] member ... said the plan had been 'watered down' by business interests ... she called on her supporters to continue their effort to gather signatures for a possible ballot initiative on wages this fall ... Some workers would get to $15 an hour as early as 2017, with a cost-of-living adjustment after that tied to the Consumer Price Index, while other workers, at smaller companies, would not see $15 until 2021. Washington already has the highest statewide minimum wage in the nation, at $9.32."
Massachusetts nears increase. WGBH: "The state Senate has approved a bill that would increase the state's minimum wage while also offering business-friendly changes in the state's unemployment insurance ... The Senate bill would raise the wage to $11 per hour over three years and tie future increases to inflation. A bill passed by the House would bring the hourly wage to $10.50 over three years, but without indexing hikes to inflation."
"Fed Resigned to Diminished Growth Expectations" reports Bloomberg: "No longer are they saying growth must accelerate from the 2 percent to 2.5 percent pace it has generally averaged since the recession ended. Instead, they are stressing the importance of preventing the expansion from faltering ... By lowering its assessment of how fast the economy can expand and conducting policy accordingly, the Fed runs the risk of locking the U.S. into a slow-growth path, said Tim Duy, a former Treasury Department economist..."
AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka explains what "working people will vote for this November" in W. Post oped: "The real issue is whether we continue down the road toward more radical inequality or move, instead, toward reinventing a nation whose economy is consistent with our national values of democracy and opportunity ... We will also turn out for candidates who ... speak clearly about falling wages and concentration of wealth and income ... candidates who squarely acknowledge that our society faces a choice between plutocracy and a future of shared prosperity ... There is no way to out-plutocrat the plutocrats."
FL Takes Big Step For Immigrants
Embattled Florida Gov. RIck Scott expected to sign bill cutting tuition costs for undocumented. Time: "Florida senators voted in favor of a bill to allow undocumented immigrants to qualify for the same in-state tuition rate at public universities that U.S. citizens do. Representatives are due to approve several minor changes before Gov. Rick Scott is expected to sign it into law ... Florida would be the 20th state in the Union to offer in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants ... [He] currently lags 10 points behind his Democratic opponent ... Analysts say he is attempting to curry favor with the state’s large Latino population."
Anti-immigrant conservatives launch pledge effort to bind congresspeople. The Hill: "They are pushing Republican candidates to sign a pledge to oppose three key components of Obama’s reform agenda. In the past week, it has become an issue in several competitive Republican primaries around the country. It is modeled on the concept that anti-tax activist Grover Norquist made famous with the Taxpayer Protection Pledge."
Senate May Clear Energy-Efficiency Bill
Energy-efficiency bill may get Senate vote next week. The Hill: "On Thursday, Reid filed a motion to end debate on the motion to proceed ... [The bipartisan bill] contains measures to boost building codes, train workers in energy efficient building technologies, help manufacturers become more efficient and bolster conservation efforts at federal agencies ... Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) [had] refused to allow any other amendments to be considered until he got a vote on a measure dealing with ObamaCare. Vitter said Thursday that he wouldn’t push his ObamaCare measure if Reid agreed to hold a binding vote on an amendment that would authorize the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline..."
Keystone vote may happen next week too. Bloomberg: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat who opposes the pipeline, told reporters yesterday that there is a '75 to 80 percent chance' that a vote on a stand-alone Keystone bill will be allowed. That might seem like good news for pipeline supporters, but Democratic leaders are convinced they could defeat [it. Supporters are] four [votes] shy of what’s needed..."
Breakfast Sides
Obamacare enrollment spike in swing states. The Hill: "ObamaCare enrollment beat the administration's projections in the majority of states with competitive Senate races, according to an analysis by The Hill. Seven states exceeded expectations by the end of the special enrollment period in mid-April, including six with Senate seats currently held by Democrats."
Video of Baltimore street collapse spotlights infrastructure crisis. HuffPost: "...the street's entire retaining wall gives way in a deafening crash as the bystanders scream in disbelief. No one was injured. The cars fell onto train track ... The Baltimore Sun reported that the collapsed wall was 120 years old, and that 19 homes near the site of the landslide were evacuated. Heavy rains in the Baltimore area on Wednesday caused widespread flooding, which led to the collapse. CBS Baltimore reported that Charles Village residents had also made numerous complaints about the 'crumbling' street over the past year."
