Did you see this? “L.A. labor leaders seek minimum wage exemption for firms with union workers”

Did you see this? “L.A. labor leaders seek minimum wage exemption for firms with union workers” May 28, 2015

From the L.A. Times.

Labor leaders, who were among the strongest supporters of the citywide minimum wage increase approved last week by the Los Angeles City Council, are advocating last-minute changes to the law that could create an exemption for companies with unionized workforces. . . .

“With a collective bargaining agreement, a business owner and the employees negotiate an agreement that works for them both. The agreement allows each party to prioritize what is important to them,” Hicks said in a statement. “This provision gives the parties the option, the freedom, to negotiate that agreement. And that is a good thing.”

Commenters on that site and elsewhere point out that this is a device to increase unionization, if employers have reason to believe that the union will be compliant and agree to a lower wage, leaving workers with, yes, a job maybe that wouldn’t have existed otherwise, but also union dues to pay.  And the logic?  Why should unions be able to agree to a way lower than the statutory minimum, but not individuals?  After all, the purpose of a minimum wage is not to protect workers from Evil Employers, but from each other — to prevent some workers from underbidding others in terms of the wages they’d accept.


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