Black Women's Equal Pay Day on July 27 calls attention to the wage disparity between Black women and white men.

In Mississippi, it is even more pronounced than in other states. More than 100,000 women in the Magnolia State work in low-paid jobs, according to a new report from the National Women's Law Center.

Cassandra Welchlin, executive director of the Mississippi Black Women's Roundtable, said eight of 10 women who are heads of household live in poverty in the state. She pointed out it takes seven months for a Black woman's earnings to catch up to what a white man makes in a year, perpetuating a cycle of economic inequality and exclusion.

"Mississippi Black women earn 56 cents on the dollar," Welchlin reported. "Compared to the national, which is Black women earn 67 cents for full-time, year-round workers, and 64 cents for workers working part-time."

This means in a 40-year career, Black women lose more than $907,000 to the wage gap. Mississippi is one of only five states without a state minimum wage, so it still uses the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

Last year, the Mississippi Legislature passed the "Equal Pay for Equal Work Act," to ensure men and women are paid equally for the same work. Welchlin argued it is a start, but more policy changes are needed. She explained the new law does not address the root causes of wage disparities.

"The bill actually said that they can pay a woman less based on employment gaps," Welchlin emphasized. "Well, we know women are going to have employment gaps because we are caregivers of our community, of our families. So that it actually codified -- that we have babies -- and so, you're discriminating against her for what she naturally does."

This week, the Roundtable is launching High Road Kitchens, which are independent restaurants providing food on a sliding scale to low-wage workers and others in need. She added it is part of their goal to raise the federal minimum wage, and also eliminate the lower, subminimum wage paid to tipped workers, of only $2.13 an hour.

"We are working with One Fair Wage to do a model here in Jackson, Mississippi," Welchlin outlined. "Where we are inviting restaurant owners -- we're going to be giving restaurant owners, I believe, $5,000 -- to be a part of this movement to increase wages, and to commit to removing the subminimum wage."

The events for Black Women's Equal Pay Day also include a panel discussion and a "Twitter storm" with some national partners about the importance of the observance.


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Minnesota is two years away from enacting its new paid leave law and while the debate over costs has resurfaced, some in the small business community are not worried.

The law was adopted in the most recent legislative session with plenty of fanfare, following debate over the potential effects on businesses. It allows up to 12 weeks of paid family leave or 12 weeks of medical leave. It's capped at 20 weeks for those needing both, and will be funded through payroll premiums split between employers and employees.

A new state-commissioned analysis suggested the expected rates should be slightly higher to cover costs.

Dan Swenson-Klatt, owner of the Butter Bakery Café in Minneapolis and member of Main Street Alliance, still backs the law.

"It's still about 10 times less than I pay when I'm paying out of pocket to be able to pay that kind of premium level," Swenson-Klatt explained.

Organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, as well as Republican lawmakers, said the new findings underscore their concerns about the law being a costly endeavor. But Democratic sponsors welcomed the new analysis, saying the new projections are still in line with what they had envisioned when pushing through the plan.

In trying to compete with larger chains and other big businesses, Swenson-Klatt argued the new law gives smaller operations a recruiting resource they lack.

"I'll be able to have money that I'm not spending out of my pocket to do other things for my business and have a benefit that's valuable to my staff," Swenson-Klatt pointed out.

He also disagreed with fears workers will take advantage of the law by consistently maxing out the benefit. While some smaller businesses are unfazed by the latest projections, the National Federation of Independent Business called on Minnesota lawmakers to revisit the issue next year and implement caps and reductions to reduce costs.

The analysis showed overall program cost increases could exceed $600 million.


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A lawsuit challenging Wisconsin's collective near-total bargaining ban for most public workers is by some seen as a way to bolster the state's beleaguered educator workforce.

A coalition of unions filed a lawsuit last week seeking to overturn Act 10, which places heavy limitations on negotiating rights for public-sector unions. The law has been in place a dozen years and was a major priority for conservative lawmakers.

The latest lawsuit comes as Wisconsin, like other states, grapples with teacher shortages.

Madeline Topf, co-president of the Teaching Assistants Association, which represents graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a plaintiff in the case, said restoring rights could make the state an attractive place for future educators and researchers.

"Having really strong education through academia, as well as in public schools, is really important for training the next generation but also recruiting people," Topf explained.

The controversial law has been able to stay in place despite past efforts to have it thrown out. A recent report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum noted the state's teacher turnover rate has climbed from 8% in 2010 to more than 15% in the last school year.

Topf noted at the graduate student level, she and her peers are very passionate about what they are studying. She feels not having the right to bargain for extra support erodes at their enthusiasm to carry out a public mission.

"We have people who have to live with many roommates, or don't have enough money to get groceries," Topf observed.

She pointed out at the university, her union is in the midst of a major campaign citing the need for paid leave benefits.

The lawsuit was filed after the Wisconsin Supreme Court flipped to a liberal majority. Legal analysts said it could take time for it to reach the high court, and there is the possibility the newest liberal justice would recuse herself from the case. Meanwhile, Republican leaders say overturning the law would result in budget harm for schools.


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Workers at the Tacoma Art Museum are celebrating a unique union victory that could be a model for other museums.

The 26 members of Tacoma Art Museum Workers United voted unanimously in favor of the union in November.

It's Washington state's first cross-department union in an art museum, although they're still seeking to include two security workers.

Museum Institutional Giving Manager Eden Redmond said they fought for an inclusive union because workers were experiencing similar issues museum-wide.

"The issues that workers were facing permeated across departments," said Redmond, "and they permeated across experience levels and tenure, and they permeated across different generations of leadership - and so we began looking to each other and saying, hey, we've got a systemic problem and we need a systemic solution."

The union is joining the Washington Federation of State Employees. Redmond said they'll start working on a contract in 2024.

Museum leadership said they will work with the union going forward in this process.

Steve Rue is a preparator at the museum. He said he sees their unionization drive as part of a larger movement.

"The problems that are happening in other museums are the exact same problems that we have here," said Rue, "which goes to show that it's more than just a few bad apples in a few places. The museum industry as a whole is outdated and broken."

Redmond said Tacoma Art Museum workers have been connecting with staff at other museums around the country who are facing the same issues, and sees energy behind unionization elsewhere too.

"If you're going to be protecting and preserving culture through arts objects or historical objects," said Redmond, "you can also be creating positive culture by protecting your workers."