Will Hot Labor Summer Last Forever? Four Takeaways from the Current Labor Movement
The post-pandemic labor market, which forced employers to step up their game to attract workers, won’t last forever. What goes up may very well come back down. The time to lock down gains for low wage workers is now. Policies like local minimum wage boosts, better wage theft enforcement regimes, and strong worker protections can ensure that rising inflation won’t push us back into the status quo: a labor market stacked in favor of big corporations and against the interest of Colorado’s working families.
- Low-wage workers have seen real wage gains.
An upcoming CFI report finds that Colorado workers earning low wages, especially younger and non-college educated workers, have indeed seen substantial real wage gains – even during a time of historic inflation. The wages of the bottom are up 30 percent in real terms since 2012, with most of that growth in the last 5 years. These gains are a step in the right direction, but there’s still work to be done.
- Workers’ gains are largely the result of temporary policy.
Many of the wins over the last 3 years for workers came from the extra leverage they received as a result of fiscal stimulus, child tax credits, bulked-up unemployment insurance, and protection from evictions. Many of these policies were one-time large federal spending bills, meaning things like the expanded federal Child Tax Credit – which gave working families cash in hand to stay afloat – have come and gone.
While prominent national labor economist, Arindrajit Dube contends “there are good reasons to think that at least a chunk of the changes that we’ve seen in the low-wage labor market will prove lasting,” he also raises that workers may lose this post-pandemic leverage if companies start cutting jobs.
And in Colorado, this may very well be a salient threat; job growth is on a slowing trajectory. Further, anti-competitive tactics threaten to erase gains for workers and harm consumers, meaning a swift end to these meager gains. Strong labor standards, such as a higher minimum wage and robust enforcement of existing laws, can prevent workers from facing economic hardship when the labor market inevitably weakens.
- Corporate greed: from big gig to big grocery.
The elusive ~$25 billion Kroger-Albertsons merger not only poses a distinct threat to the ability of over 85 million households to afford their groceries, but the proposed consolidation is also estimated to produce mass layoffs, harm Colorado’s farmers and ranchers, and suppress already-low wages for grocery store workers.
In a major loss for Southwest Airlines employees and worker justice advocates, the company reached a settlement with the state over the summer allowing the company to avoid 90 percent of what would’ve been the largest fine ever issued by the state of Colorado for labor law violations. Advocates worry this is indicative of how the state will handle future labor violations.
CFI has highlighted the true economic costs of allowing exploitative ride-share and delivery corporations to hide behind their algorithms and claims of flexible work. Not only do workers earn sub-minimum wage, but “big gig” companies are able to skirt transparency or accountability to exploit riders and drivers alike.
- The guiding light: new worker protections are coming into effect.
A major bright side: updates to workers’ rights policy in Colorado are coming into effect. One of these is the Protecting Opportunities and Workers’ Rights Act, which will improve the standard for workplace harassment to move the needle towards securing true dignity and safety for all workers across the state. Hot labor summer also brought the expansion of our state’s paid sick leave law, and free speech protections for public employees who speak out for better working conditions.
Another promising development at the city level: new laws in Denver should help ensure stolen and underpaid labor is a thing of the past. Denver Labor recovered more than $1 million for underpaid workers, which already exceeded previous annual records, and in the first half of 2023 (as of August 4th, 2023), $1,479,453 in stolen wages has already been recovered for employees across Denver. Other localities might see fit to follow suit.
Localities across the state are noodling with minimum wage boosts, and Denver’s promising results indicate that generous, scheduled increases yield strong economic benefits. CFI’s recent blog highlighted three metrics in which Denver’s economy outpaced the rest of the state since raising the minimum wage.
So now what?
Locking down these hard-earned gains for low wage workers will require intentional policy choices, and a continued movement towards ensuring a voice at the table for working people. When the working people who keep our economy in motion suffer, the state’s economy pays the price.
Called to Action?
Minimum Wage:
If you live in Boulder County, email your elected officials to express your support for raising the wage:
https://bit.ly/BoulderCountyLivingWage
Sign the petition to demand $25 an hour by 2028:
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/boulderminimumwage/
Stop the merger:
Have we convinced you the Kroger-Albertsons merger is bad news for consumers, workers, and economic competitiveness alike? Let the Federal Trade Commission know here:
