EAST ORLANDO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
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The Great Debate over Minimum Wage & the Impact on Small Business
Healthcare Council Collaborative Virtual Peer-to-Peer Referral Forum & Breakout THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2020 8:00 – 9:00 AM Powered by Powernet Free to Healthcare professionals
BY DOROTHY HARDEE
For years, there has been a national debate over whether to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour and in November, Floridians will be able to cast their ballot on the issue.
Ribbon Cutting & Open House – Dedicated Senior Medical Center – Pine Hills MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2020 10:00 – 11:00 AM 2724 N Hiawassee Road, Ste. 100 Orlando, FL 32818 Registration required
Established in 1938 as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), FLSA not only determined a minimum wage to ensure employees would have a fair wage as well as decent quality of life but also, prohibited child labor and mandated the 40-hour workweek. It was also supposed to ensure regular increases to ensure the lowest-paid workers could benefit improving their standard of living. In 2015, David Cooper with The Economic Policy Institute addressed the fact that adjustments have been infrequent and inadequate eroding buying power, making “the value of the federal minimum wage in 2014, 24 percent below its peak value in 1968.” The decline meant that employees had to work longer hours to achieve a standard of living considered the bare minimum almost half a century ago. He went on to say that “raising the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020 (the goal in 2015) would restore its value to a level that ensures full-time work is a means to escape poverty and would provide tens of millions of America’s lowest paid workers with a small yet long overdue improvement in their standard of living”. Fast forward to 2020 and a pandemic situation. Our frontline workers (20 percent of which are doctors and nurses) are risking their lives during COVID. However, the other 80 percent are low paid, undervalued essential workers such as housekeepers in acute nursing facilities, maintenance, dietary, nursing assistants, patient care techs, administration, and others. The median pay is $13.48 an hour, well short of a living wage. In fact, 20 percent of care workers live in poverty and more than 40 percent rely on some type of public assistance. Florida last voted on a minimum wage ballot measure in 2004. Voters approved Florida Amendment 5 approving a $6.15 per hour minimum wage set to increase each year on changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W). Ballotpedia shared that, as of 2020, seven states have passed a $15 minimum wage bill,
The Member Academy Hybrid Event WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2020 8:30 – 10:00 AM 12301 Lake Underhill Road, Ste. 245 Orlando, FL 32828 Registration required – Hybrid Event *Member Exclusive
Congo River Gold After Hours Fun WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2020 5:00 – 7:00 PM 12193 E Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32826 $22 for EOCC Members | $32 for Nonmembers. Includes one-round of golf + PDQ 3-piece meal & drink Registration Required
Misters & Sisters Great Lunch Adventures FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2020 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Island Wing Company UCF 4100 N Alafaya Trail, #107 Orlando, FL 32826 RSVP required for this “Dutch Treat”
Chamber Luncheon: Is Bitcoin the New Payment Option for Small Business? Featuring Avani Desai, President Schellman & Company, LLC
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2020 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM The Pavilion at Avalon Park 13401 Tanja King Blvd. Orlando, FL 32828 Registration Required: Hybrid Event
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Please visit EOCC.org for a complete listing of October events
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