The Conservative Backlash Against Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave Victories Sweeping The Nation

Antoin Adams likes working, and working hard. In his job at a KFC in Birmingham, Alabama, he’s responsible for cooking food, cleaning the restaurant, and keeping track of the inventory. But all that hard work has yet to even nudge his boss to discuss a raise from his current pay: $7.25 an hour, or the very least a worker in America can be paid.

“I don’t have a problem with working, I love working,” he said. “But I want to feel like I’m working for something… I know how hard I work and I work too hard for $7.25.”

Making minimum wage is rough on him. He has rent, utilities, and car payments to worry about. Adams says he doesn’t get food stamps, so he has to buy all of his groceries on that wage too. “On $7.25, you can’t really pay your rent or anything or utilities,” he said. “It’s hard.”

So as soon as he heard about the Fight for 15 movement pushing for higher minimum wages in the industry and the local push to pass a $10.10 minimum wage in his city of Birmingham, he signed up. “When I see they’re trying to make a change, I joined because that’s something I’d like to do,” he said.

At first, it seemed like he and the movement were successful. Last summer, the city council voted to raise the minimum wage to $10.10, giving people like Adams an increase by 2017. He was excited. “It would actually make a big difference” to make that kind of pay, he said. “I feel like I can take care of more responsibilities.”

But the victory didn’t last....
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/06/16/3788376/preemption-laws/