{"id":77923,"date":"2019-03-20T21:45:33","date_gmt":"2019-03-21T02:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=77923"},"modified":"2019-03-23T16:05:16","modified_gmt":"2019-03-23T21:05:16","slug":"for-those-who-pushed-for-illinois-minimum-wage-increase-automation-poses-questions-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/for-those-who-pushed-for-illinois-minimum-wage-increase-automation-poses-questions-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"For those who pushed for Illinois minimum wage increase, automation poses questions, challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"<link href='https:\/\/cdn.knightlab.com\/libs\/soundcite\/latest\/css\/player.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text\/css'><script type='text\/javascript' src='https:\/\/cdn.knightlab.com\/libs\/soundcite\/latest\/js\/soundcite.min.js'><\/script><br \/>\n<strong>By Dwight A. Weingarten<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Medill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"dropcap\">The Illinois state minimum wage will rise to $9.25 an hour on Jan. 1, 2020, increasing for the first time in a decade, and to $15 an hour by 2025. But the struggle of low-wage workers and their political allies who fought for the increase face a seemingly steep obstacle&#8212;automation, robotics and kiosk<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/business\/ct-biz-automation-minimum-wage-illinois-20190214-story.html\"> services.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In the spring of 1964, civil rights activist <a href=\"http:\/\/americanradioworks.publicradio.org\/features\/blackspeech\/bmoses.html\">Bob Moses spoke at Stanford University<\/a> in an attempt to recruit students to join him in Mississippi to help register voters. Moses\u2019 words about organizing and human rights hold true some 55 years later and will frame the struggle that achieved the $15 minimum wage in Illinois &#8211; click on Moses\u2019 words quoted in this story to hear the original recording of the speech.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Demonstration<\/strong><br \/>\n<span class=\"soundcite\" data-id=\"586512291\" data-start=\"63500\" data-end=\"82268\" data-plays=\"1\">\u201cAll the questions about automation, all the questions about our schools, all the questions about our cities&#8212;what kind of cities will we have?&#8212;all of these find their focus in the public eye in terms of some kind of civil rights demonstration or another.\u201d <\/span> Bob Moses<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cStand up, sit down, Chicago is a union town,\u201d said fast-food workers and their allies as they marched to the McDonald\u2019s headquarters in the West Loop on Oct. 4, a month before Illinois would elect a new governor.<\/p>\n<p>Rev. William J. Barber II, a civil rights leader and national co-chair of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.poorpeoplescampaign.org\/\">Poor People\u2019s Campaign<\/a>,\u00a0 came to Chicago for the march. The North Carolina organizer stood in solidarity with the workers as they held their demonstration for a $15 minimum wage and a union.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[The day] was very powerful and very moving,\u201d said Ieshia Townsend, 32, a McDonald\u2019s employee in Chicago who participated in the march and demonstration.<\/p>\n<p>Illinois state representative Will Guzzardi, a Chicago Democrat, walked alongside the workers as they marched, aptly, from Union Park down West Randolph Street to the McDonald\u2019s headquarters where Chicago police removed Guzzardi, Barber, and 50 others, issuing them citations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a memorable day for me,\u201d said Guzzardi in an interview this March, calling the grassroots movement Fight for $15, powerful and inspiring.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Chicago union march\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/324758902?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"featurecaption\">Fast-food workers and their allies rally at Union Park on Chicago&#8217;s West Side before marching to McDonald&#8217;s headquarters.\u00a0Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Rev. William J. Barber II joined the demonstration for a $15\/hr minimum wage and a union.<\/div>\n<p><strong>The Steps <\/strong><br \/>\n<span class=\"soundcite\" data-id=\"586512291\" data-start=\"90528\" data-end=\"140660\" data-plays=\"1\">\u201cThey\u2019re all gaining national focus and beginning to bring to the attention of the American people a wider cross-section of problems. The problem is whether we will be able to really find solutions, whether we will be able&#8212;if we find these solutions&#8212;to take the steps that might be necessary, in terms of the structure of our politics and economics, to carry them through. If we\u2019re willing to take those steps, whether those steps can be carried through peacefully, and with some kind of minimum amount of real frustrations for millions of people.\u201d<\/span>Bob Moses<\/p>\n<p>As Rev. Barber was dealing with the Chicago Police that day, he was selected as the recipient of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/religion\/2018\/10\/05\/closest-person-we-have-martin-luther-king-jr-pastor-activist-william-j-barber-wins-genius-grant\/?utm_term=.e89046310f8e\">MacArthur Foundation \u201cgenius grant\u201d<\/a> worth $625,000 to carry on his advocacy work nationally.<\/p>\n<p>While Barber\u2019s work continues across the country, it was the local movement for an increased minimum wage that spurred state-level policy change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe really galvanized around $15 as the appropriate minimum wage for the state,\u201d said Guzzardi, who represents the state\u2019s 39<sup>th<\/sup> district. \u201cThat happened largely as a result of public organizing, of grassroots movement building that insisted on fifteen as the bare minimum for decency and a reasonable standard of living.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A bill to increase the state\u2019s minimum wage passed both houses of the Illinois legislature in 2017 before then-Gov. Bruce Rauner (R-Ill.) vetoed the bill.<\/p>\n<p>With Rauner\u2019s defeat in the November election, Democrats in the state house reintroduced legislation to increase the minimum wage. This time the legislation became law as new Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-Ill.) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/news\/local\/politics\/ct-met-illinois-minimum-wage-pritzker-signs-bill-20190219-story.html\">signed the bill<\/a> several weeks after taking office.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Watch scheduled wage increases for the Chicago area and Illinois<\/strong><br \/>\n<p class='codepen'  data-height='740' data-theme-id='4609' data-slug-hash='LamzEz' data-default-tab='result' data-animations='run' data-editable='' data-embed-version='2'>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"featurecaption\">Stage 1: July 1, 2019. Minimum wage in Chicago &amp; Cook County increases $1.<br \/>\nStage 2: Jan. 1, 2020. State minimum wage increases $1 to $9.25\/hr.<br \/>\nStage 3: July 1, 2020. State minimum wage increases $0.75 to $10\/hr. Cook County increases $1 to $13\/hr.<br \/>\nStages 4-7: State minimum wage increases $1 each year on Jan. 1 until Jan. 1, 2025 when the wage across the state is scheduled to reach it reaches $15\/hr. Sources: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicago.gov\/content\/dam\/city\/depts\/bacp\/Consumer%20Information\/20180601minimumwage.pdf\">City of Chicago<\/a>; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cata.info\/assets\/1\/7\/Cook_wage.pdf\">Cook County;\u00a0 <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www2.illinois.gov\/idol\/Laws-Rules\/FLS\/Pages\/minimum-wage-rates-by-year.aspx\">State of Illinois . <\/a>Graphic by: Dwight A. Weingarten in collaboration with Andrew Hullinger\/MEDILL<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The new law mandates that the state\u2019s minimum wage increase approximately $1 per year until it reaches $15 an hour on Jan. 1, 2025. The increased wage does not mean the end of challenges or activism for those who fought for the wage increase.<\/p>\n<p>As the minimum wage increases and corporate costs rise, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w23667.pdf\">a 2017 study<\/a> suggests that automation could jeopardize the security of many jobs. Guzzardi does not see the wage increase as the cause.\u201c<\/p>\n<p>Automation is happening no matter what, irrespective of the minimum wage,\u201d said Guzzardi, the bill\u2019s house sponsor, saying the increased wage will be transformational for people in Illinois.Pointing to the shortcomings of automation, Townsend said,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to be fired or replaced [by automated kiosks].\u201d\u201cThe machine cannot interact with the customers,\u201d said Townsend, mentioning the relationships employees have with regular customers.<\/p>\n<p>Townsend, who has been active with the Fight for $15 for three years, sees organizing as the key. \u201cWe come together as one,\u201d said Townsend, \u201cand eventually, we will have our union.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2018, only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/webapps\/legacy\/cpslutab3.htm\">10.5 percent of American workers<\/a> were members of a union, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about half as many as in 1983.<\/p>\n<p>For Townsend, a union would mean security and could bring health insurance and maternity leave, benefits she does not currently receive.<\/p>\n<p>For Guzzardi, the question brought about by automation is larger: \u201cHow do we structure an economy that shares the advantages of that automation with working people?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Questions<\/strong><br \/>\n<span class=\"soundcite\" data-id=\"586512291\" data-start=\"20435\" data-end=\"54371\" data-plays=\"1\">\u201cThe questions that we think faces the country are questions which are much deeper than civil rights. They\u2019re questions which go very much to the bottom of mankind, and of people. They\u2019re questions which have repercussions in terms of our whole international affairs and relations. They\u2019re questions which go to the very root of our society. What kind of society will we be, what kind of a people will be?\u201d<\/span>Bob Moses<\/p>\n<p>Guzzardi framed the question another way, \u201cHow do we structure an economy that distributes the benefits of automation in a fair way to every one throughout the economy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Noting that automation could be positive as people have to do less work, Guzzardi said, \u201cThe [economic] benefits of automation are only adhering right now to the folks at the very top, to the folks in the ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can\u2019t get into a downward competition between human beings and machines for labor costs,\u201d said Guzzardi.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_77993\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-77993\" style=\"width: 1100px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-77993\" src=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/03\/GuzzardiFINAL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1100\" height=\"733\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/03\/GuzzardiFINAL.jpg 1100w, https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/03\/GuzzardiFINAL-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/03\/GuzzardiFINAL-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/03\/GuzzardiFINAL-1024x682.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-77993\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Illinois state representative Will Guzzardi (center, yellow armband) at the October march to McDonald\u2019s headquarters. Guzzardi, who sponsored the legislation in the house that raised the state minimum wage to $15 an hour, now sees automation as another challenge (Photo by: Dwight A. Weingarten).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For the activists that campaigned for the increased wage, the organizing work continues in the fight for a union.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will have our union,\u201d said Townsend, \u201cI have no doubt in my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the legislators that worked to pass the bill, the challenges continue as the economy changes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[Automation] is a really important challenge that we\u2019re facing in the American economy,\u201d said Guzzardi, \u201cand one that we\u2019re going to have to grapple with over the next years and decades.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>To read about Moses\u2019 work in education today to empower students through mathematics for the Information Age, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/in-the-information-age-civil-rights-activist-promotes-mathematics-education-to-foster-national-citizenship\/\">click here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"featurecaption\">Photo at top: A customer orders at an automated kiosk in a Chicago McDonald\u2019s. One study suggests that an increased minimum wage could lead to more automation (Dwight A. Weingarten\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Dwight A. Weingarten Medill Reports The Illinois state minimum wage will rise to $9.25 an hour on Jan. 1, 2020, increasing for the first time in a decade, and to $15 an hour by 2025. But the struggle of low-wage workers and their political allies who fought for the increase face a seemingly steep [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":549,"featured_media":77992,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,28,30,675,4559],"tags":[4728,4712,3372,3932,4727,3218],"class_list":["post-77923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-general-interest","category-public-affairs","category-social-justice","category-winter-2019","tag-automation","tag-bob-moses","tag-fight-for-15","tag-minimum-wage","tag-rev-william-j-barber-ii","tag-will-guzzardi"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>For those who pushed for Illinois minimum wage increase, automation poses questions, challenges - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/for-those-who-pushed-for-illinois-minimum-wage-increase-automation-poses-questions-challenges\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"For those who pushed for Illinois minimum wage increase, automation poses questions, challenges - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Dwight A. Weingarten Medill Reports The Illinois state minimum wage will rise to $9.25 an hour on Jan. 1, 2020, increasing for the first time in a decade, and to $15 an hour by 2025. 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Weingarten Medill Reports The Illinois state minimum wage will rise to $9.25 an hour on Jan. 1, 2020, increasing for the first time in a decade, and to $15 an hour by 2025. 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