Fighting for a Living Wage (review)

Since the first major living wage victory in Baltimore in 1994, more than a hundred cities and counties across the United States had passed similar ordinances by late 2003, as tallied by Stephanie Luce in her book, Fighting for a Living Wage. Indeed, some thirty new ordinances have passed since early 2002, generally broader in scope and coverage than the early ordinances. Yet these statistics don't tell the full story regarding the success of the living wage movement, for the accomplishment of getting an ordinance passed, it turns out, is only half the struggle.

Implementing an ordinance often requires a second strategic campaign by the organizations that backed the original mobilization. This book tells the in-depth story of what living wage ordinances have faced after passage—ranging from total blockage to full implementation—and analyzes the reasons behind their respective fates. The discouraging news is that 62% of all ordinances have been narrowly limited in their application or blocked altogether.

Luce points out that living wage ordinances are not the only laws that are killed or crippled when they reach the stage of implementation. Progressive legislation that runs counter to the political/managerial philosophy of those charged with administration are more likely to run into a lack of commitment and halfway measures, if not outright opposition. At the same time, decades of attacks on government and economic development strategies that locked local governments in a competitive struggle for companies and jobs have left municipal and county government sapped of personnel and revenues. Despite these hurdles, Luce shows that ordinances can be made to work through a continuation of activism by community stakeholders, utilizing a combination of inside and outside strategies. She points out that:

Outside tactics, such as rallies, press coverage, external reports, and grievances, can push the city to remedy instances of noncompliance. Working from the inside, through task forces or other formal systematic channels such as worker education programs, can also improve implementation.

The greatest value of this book is as a resource to living wage activists on the wide range of methods and strategies by which they can translate a living wage ordinance victory into a program that actually works. Some of those strategies apply to the post-passage period, but others go clear back to the initial campaign. Accomplishing these goals may in turn lead to greater things, as Luce points out. While at most 250,000 workers are directly benefiting from a living wage ordinance, there are more than 20 million U.S. workers who currently earn less than $9 an hour. No one ever thought this movement was exclusively about the immediate beneficiaries; it has always had a broader agenda. That agenda encompasses goals like organizing low wage workers, stopping privatization, and changing the way people think about the nature of wages and the economy. Connecting that agenda to a larger vision, Luce points out that "what might eventually address the larger inequities would be a social movement that brought together broad sectors of society." Living wage campaigns offer an opportunity to bring together labor, religious leaders and community organizations that may contribute to that larger goal.

But it is not enough that these groups work together. Movement building requires victories and milestones accomplished along the way. And this book is a contribution to making those happen.