For six years, Republicans in Washington have blocked almost every effort to improve conditions and wages for working people. Around the country, cities and states are no longer waiting for Washington to act, and are taking things into their own hands. They have passed laws increasing the minimum wage and requiring sick pay for workers. Now San Francisco has passed, and is waiting for the mayor to sign, a groundbreaking law that lets employees know in advance when and where their work shifts will be.People Are Fed UpCongress is “gridlocked,” which is Washington-speak for Republicans are obstructing everything that might help regular, working Americans. People want protections and improvements. Brigid Schulte writes in The Washington Post:

As many as 73 percent of voters surveyed by The Pew Research Center earlier this year favored raising the minimum wage. And 86 percent of those surveyed in recent years by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago favored legislation to guarantee workers paid sick days.

People are giving up waiting for Washington to act, and are going ahead to make things happen locally. Cities and states around the country are passing local minimum wage increases and other laws to help working people. For example, we’ve seen it with minimum wage ballot initiatives passing in November — even in states that voted “red” — and votes by local governments. Connecticut and California and Massachusetts have passed laws to give workers paid sick days, as have numerous cities.Read More.Source: Our Future/Dave Johnson