GLC 2O: Replacement Assignment Boosting Minimum Wage

Transcription

1 GLC 2O: Replacement Assignment Boosting Minimum Wage The opportunity: Congratulations, you re at the end of the course! You ve worked so well, that you have been granted the opportunity to replace the mark you are least happy with. All you have to do, is complete the final assignment, and the mark you receive will be transferred into its place! Task: Your job is as follows: 1. Read the attached article, Boosting Minimum Wage, highlighting key points and making notes. 2. Complete the comparison chart. 3. Complete the OSSLT-style 42 line series of paragraphs expressing an opinion answering the question: Should workers in Ontario be paid a higher minimum wage? Use attached sheets.

2 The Globe and Mail (27 February 2013) Boosting minimum wage would also boost economy, from bottom up ARMINE YALNIZYAN President Barack Obama put the idea of raising the minimum wage on the radar in the U.S. It deserves to be on the radar in Canada too. That's because low-wage work is on the rise. Mr. Obama says raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour is good for families dependent on low-wage jobs, and for businesses dependent on more consumer power to fuel their growth. A growing economy helps balance the books too. Nowhere is this more important to consider than in Ontario, where minimum wage workers now account for almost one in 10 employees, more than double the share of a decade ago. (These stats don't include the self-employed.) Ontario's workers are more reliant on minimum wage jobs than any other part of the country, but for Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Kathleen Wynne, please pay attention. With more people working at or near the minimum wage in Canada, freezing the statutory minimum means a bigger share of consumers will lose purchasing power to inflation. That's bad news for the economy, since household spending drives 54 per cent of gross domestic product. There has been no federal minimum wage in Canada since Ontario and British Columbia have the highest, at $10.25 an hour. Most provinces have been increasing their minimum wage every year, right through the recession. Ontario's minimum wage workers haven't had a raise since March Inflation has taken a 6.5-per-cent bite out of the minimum wage's purchasing power since then. Just over 1 million Canadians are paid at the minimum wage. Ontario accounts for over half of them (534,000). Many people could see a welcome increase in take-home pay if the minimum wage were raised in Ontario to $11.50 an hour, recommended by Ontario's biggest anti-poverty group, 25in5. Let me make that real for you. A person working full-time, fullyear at a minimum wage job in Ontario makes $20,500 before taxes. With the increase, they could make $2,500 more, pre-tax. People at the bottom of the income spectrum spend all the money they have, and more. Increase their pay, they spend more money, raise demand, boost the economy. Employers don't create jobs; consumers do. But raising the minimum wage could mean job loss too. That's the main point of those who argue increasing wages will do more harm than good (though why that only applies to workers, and not bosses, beats me). Clearly some employers can absorb or pass on higher costs more easily than others, whether for labour or other inputs. It's often assumed that employers who hire minimum wage workers are small businesses. Surprise: More minimum wage workers are being hired by businesses with more than 500 employees over time. In 1998, big business hired 29.6 per cent of all minimum wage employees in Canada; by 2012 they employed 45.3 per cent. In Ontario, big business accounts for almost half of all minimum wage workers. But won't young workers be hardest hit by job losses if you raise the minimum wage? It's true most minimum wage job-holders are young. Raising the minimum wage would affect them in two ways -- increase the pay of those who work a minimum wage job (making it easier to pay for college or university, and not get as deep in debt); and increase unemployment. Wait. The minimum wage hasn't increased since 2010 in Ontario and the number of unemployed young workers in Ontario is still rising. Clearly other factors are at play -- like an economy that's not growing very fast. And, in case you didn't notice, an increasing share of minimum wage workers aren't kids. They're over 35. Alberta has doubled its share of adult minimum wage workers over the past 15 years, to 33 per cent. Almost one in four minimum wage workers are adults in Newfoundland and New Brunswick. In Ontario, it's 27 per cent, up from 17 per cent in (See here for more provincial data.) Every year the costs of basics like housing, post-secondary education and energy rise. Wages have increased higher up the job ladder. When should the folks on the bottom rung see an increase? Never? People will say, with the economy so fragile, this is no time to raise the minimum wage. But it has been raised every year in almost every province outside Ontario, and jobs have been increasing. A clear plan to raise Ontario's minimum wage from $10.25 to $ and indexing it to inflation thereafter -- could increase household incomes, purchasing power, even business confidence. It can bolster the economy, from the bottom up. Less inequality, more growth. What's not to love? We should be raising the roof about the benefits of raising the wage floor.

3 The Vancouver Sun (30 September 2008) Corporate social responsibility means paying a living wage Families who work for low wages often face impossible choices: Buy clothes or heat the house, feed the children or pay the rent. The result can be spiralling debt, constant anxiety and long-term health problems. Families who work for low wages often face impossible choices: Buy clothes or heat the house, feed the children or pay the rent. The result can be spiralling debt, constant anxiety and long-term health problems. In many cases it means working extremely long hours, often at two or three jobs, just to pay for basic necessities, leaving little time to spend with family. In British Columbia, the contradiction between a strong economy and growing economic insecurity is especially stark. For five years running, B.C. has had the highest child poverty rate in Canada. The story of child poverty is very much a story of low wages. More than half of B.C.'s poor children live in families where at least one person works full-time. Something is not right when families are doing all the right things yet still struggling to meet basic needs. A living wage is one of the most powerful tools available to address this troubling state of poverty amid plenty. For those employers committed to ending child poverty, this is truly where "the rubber hits the road." A living wage is not the same as the minimum wage, which is the legal minimum employers must pay. The living wage calls on public and private sector employers to meet a higher test, for both their direct staff and their main contractors. It reflects what a family needs to bring home, based on the actual costs of living and raising children in a specific community. It would allow families to escape poverty and severe financial stress; ensure healthy child development, and participate fully in their communities. Our recent report, Working for a Living Wage 2008, calculates what the living wage is for both Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria. The calculation includes basic expenses for a twoearner family of four with two young children (such as housing, food, clothing, child care and transportation), and also incorporates government taxes, credits, and subsidies. It assumes both parents are working full-time. But the living wage is also a conservative, bare-bones budget, without the extras many of us take for granted. For example, our calculation does not include money for debt payments, or for retirement or post-secondary savings (RRSPs or RESPs), and the amounts for recreation and emergencies are very modest. The bottom line: The living wage in Vancouver is $16.74 an hour, and $16.39 in Victoria. Importantly, our living wage calculation is also enough for a single parent with one child, although a single parent with two children would have a much tougher time. Living wage movements have been gaining ground over the past 20 years, across the U.S., the U.K., and in a number of Canadian cities. In 2004, the mayor of London responded to broad public pressure by agreeing to annually set an official living wage figure for the British capital. All workers employed by the Greater London Authority -- either directly or on contract -- are paid at least that amount. A growing number of leading U.K. corporate employers now see the benefits of paying living wages, such as HSBC Bank, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Some of these employers were reticent at first, but most have found important benefits to becoming a living wage employer: Improved recruitment and retention; higher productivity, and being able to market oneself as a living wage employer. The living wage is not just about employers, however. Government policies and programs also have an impact on our standard of living, and as a result, on the living wage. Direct government transfers can put money into the pockets of lowincome families. However, most government transfers and subsidies (such as the Canada Child Tax Benefit, the GST credit, and B.C.'s child care subsidy program and rental assistance program) are reduced or eliminated once a family reaches an income well below the living wage. The living wage is also affected by public services. For example, a public child care system, increasing the stock of affordable housing, or lower public transit fares would all decrease the amount employers need to pay to provide a living wage. If employers feel unable to pay the living wage, but remain committed to ending child poverty, then they should become advocates for these kinds of policy changes.

4 TASK 1: Collect arguments for and against raising minimum wage in Ontario. Use specific and relevant evidence from the news articles distributed in class and your own ideas. Arguments For Raising Minimum Wage Arguments Against Raising Minimum Wage

5 TASK 2: Write a Series of Paragraphs Expressing an Opinion on the following topic: Should workers in Ontario be paid a higher minimum wage? Write your series of paragraphs on the lines provided below.

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7 EVALUATION Knowledge: Evidence of research (Highlighting, How complete is the chart?) Level = Thinking: Topic Development Level = OSSLT Topic Development Rubric for Writing a Series of Paragraphs Expressing an Opinion Topic development (main idea, supporting details and organization) Long-writing prompt, scored for topic development Code Descriptor Blank The pages are blank with nothing written or drawn in the space provided. Illegible The response is illegible, or irrelevant to the prompt. /6 Off topic The response is off topic. 1 out of 6 The response is related to the prompt but does not express an opinion. OR The response expresses an opinion with no supporting details or provides details unrelated to the opinion. There is no evidence of organization. 2 out of 6 The response is related to the prompt, but only part of the response expresses and supports an opinion. OR The response is related to the prompt, and expresses and supports an opinion, but the opinion is unclear or inconsistent. There are insufficient supporting details: too few or repetitious. There is limited evidence of organization. 3 out of 6 The response is related to the prompt and expresses a clear opinion. There are insufficient and/or vague supporting details or the connection of the details to the opinion is not always clear. There is evidence of organization, but lapses distract from the overall communication. 4 out of 6 The response is related to the prompt. A clear and consistent opinion is developed with sufficient supporting details, however, only some are specific. The organization is mechanical and any lapses do not distract from the overall communication. 5 out of 6 The response is related to the prompt. A clear and consistent opinion is developed with sufficient specific supporting details. The organization is logical. 6 out of 6 The response is related to the assigned prompt. A clear and consistent opinion is developed with sufficient specific supporting details that are thoughtfully chosen. The organization is coherent demonstrating a thoughtful progression of ideas. Communication: Conventions Level = OSSLT Using Conventions for Writing a Series of Paragraphs Expressing an Opinion (spelling, grammar, punctuation) Code Descriptor Blank The page is blank with nothing written or drawn in the space 1 out of 4 There is insufficient evidence to assess the use of conventions. OR Errors in conventions interfere with communication. Insufficient evidence: The student has not written enough to assess his/her use of conventions. Interfere: Reading rhythm is constantly interrupted. There is so much re-reading that the reader cannot recall what the piece of writing said overall. 2 out of 4 Errors in conventions distract from communication. Distract: Reading rhythm is interrupted, even if the information can be understood. The reader is as aware of the errors as of the information being communicated. 3 out of 4 Errors in conventions do not distract from communication. Do not distract: There may be errors, but they do not impede understanding of the information 4 out of 4 Control of conventions is evident in written work. Control: Some error may exist, but the information is easily understood. /4