N.C. Anti-Gay Law Suppresses Wages for all Workers, Union Leader Says

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http://nhlabornews.com/2016/03/n-c-anti-gay-law-suppresses-wages-for-all-workers-union-leader-says/

WASHINGTON – The North Carolina law striking down anti-discrimination protections for gays, lesbians, and transgender individuals also blocks cities and towns from increasing wages for the state’s lowest-paid workers, the head of the largest federal employee union said today.

“This is an undemocratic bill that not only discriminates against members of the LGBT community but suppresses wages for working class people who are struggling to make ends meet on $7.25 an hour,” said American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr., who is a native of North Carolina.

“The state legislators who passed this shameful bill are tying the hands of locally elected leaders and denying them the ability to pass laws that improve the lives of their own citizens. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated event. Alabama’s state leaders recently enacted their own bill that prevents cities from increasing the minimum wage above the federal floor of $7.25 an hour.

“If lawmakers in Charlotte believe that the state’s anti-discrimination laws don’t go far enough to protect their residents, they should be allowed to enhance those protections. If local officials in Birmingham want to raise the minimum wage so entry-level workers can afford to live there, they should be allowed to do that.

“Inaction at the state level is bad enough, but preventing local leaders from taking action on their own is undemocratic and un-American.”

About NH Labor News
The New Hampshire Labor News is a group of NH Workers who believe that we need to protect ourselves against the attacks on workers. We are proud union members who are working to preserve the middle class. The NHLN talks mostly about news and politics from NH. We also talk about national issues that effect working men and women here in the Granite State.