ALICE offers best practices in high-wage, low-waste, worker-friendly, publicly-accountable state and local policy. Our website serves as a collaborative clearinghouse for local elected officials, activists, organizations and issue experts who want a map and a vehicle to take the high road. 

High Road:  Women In Labor

The work of Alice Hanson Cook influenced generations -- from unionists to public policy analysts to experts in feminist jurisprudence -- and led them to transform working women's issues into societal priorities.  Paid maternity leave, pay equity and equal pay for equal work are now an integral part of the workplace.  This year marks the 100th anniversary of Cook's birth, and this week her work is celebrated at the Conference "Women and Unions: Still the Most Difficult Revolution?” 

Related News:  Census Figures Show Equal Work Doesn’t Mean Equal Pay.  According to recent census data, American women now earn 76.3 cents for every $1 earned by men, up from 73.7 cents in 2000. The pay picture is even bleaker for minority women, who still make 66 cents or less for every dollar earned by men as a group. Added up over a lifetime, unequal pay translates to a quarter million dollar chasm separating women from men. For more information, visit the sample ALICE Equal Pay Act.

Low Road:  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
On his first day in office, Gov. Schwarzenegger went after workers' compensation, slashing it by $11.3 billion, with cuts going deeper than recently enacted legislative reforms. In other low road news, Schwarzenegger opposed the law allowing immigrants to obtain licenses, prompting Senate Leader John Burton to charge overturning the license law is racist.  Click here to see CPA model legislation.

Trail Blazers:  Leaders on the High Road

Massachusetts: Employee benefits extended.  Under a State Supreme Court ruling, partnership benefits will be extended to same-sex couples who marry.

Wisconsin:  Governor Doyle’s helps people buy homes.  Speaking from the porch of a newly constructed bungalow, Doyle introduced a statewide program to help low income families purchase homes.

Iowa: Vilsack Funding Child Welfare.  Gov. Tom Vilsack vowed to restore lost dollars to cash-strapped child welfare programs, saying he would not rule out tax increase to get the job done. More

New Jersey: Cleanup of Brownfields ordered.  McGreevey ordered three companies responsible for contaminated sites to clean them up in order to start development.

Connecticut: Legislators opposed a state subsidy proposal of $40 million to help a major distiller move 10 miles.  Led by Democratic Sen. Andrew McDonald, the electeds are attempting to muster votes against the state tax incentive.

Rhode Island: 'Ticket to Work' program to benefit disabled in R.I.   A new federal program will allow disabled Rhode Islanders to reenter the work force without fear of losing Medicare benefits.

Arkansas: Recycling is gaining popularity in the state and saving money, according to Department of Environmental Quality Director Marcus Devine.

Alabama:  Gov. Bob Riley's attempt to reform the state's tax and education system earned him a Public Official of the Year award from Governing Magazine, a publication that honors innovative and courageous work. The Birmingham News

National Leaders:  A coalition of 14 states, the District of Columbia and several cities are seeking a court injunction against the EPA.  They aim to block the loosening of Clean Air Act regulations that allow older power plants, refineries, and factories to modernize without having to install expensive pollution controls. More in the Times Union (AP) and New York Times.

State News

Virginia:  Immigrants boost economy. Asian and Hispanic immigrants pump about $12 billion annually into the Virginia economy but draw few state services in return. The assembly's investigative arm said that the state should do more for foreign-born residents, including helping them become citizens. Richmond Times-Dispatch

Massachusetts: State eyes recouping taxes on hotel rooms booked online.  The DOR is investigating whether consumers booking local hotel rooms through travel websites like Expedia are significantly underpaying state hotel taxes.  

Arkansas: Study sees investing in schools paying off.  Arkansas’ per capita income has been stuck at 75 percent of the national average for two decades and won’t ever catch up unless substantially more money — an additional $1.26 billion — is invested in public education, say the authors of a new study.  

Georgia: Legislators consider raising gasoline tax. Traffic congestion and other transportation problems are pushing legislators to consider raising the gasoline tax by as much as 10 cents a gallon.

Washington State: Clergy Leaders say the State has a duty to use more fuel-efficient cars , claiming government should help protect God's creation, and it should start by buying more fuel-efficient cars.  

Iowa:  Business wants higher taxes.  Business leaders from Iowa's largest cities called for an increase in the state's cigarette tax or a fee on new gambling to help pay for a $503 million economic development fund. Des Moines Register

Local News

Franklin County:  Equal pay for equal work is the main goal of a salary study reviewed by the Franklin County Commission.  The report from George Gaines and Associates said the main goal is to have the County's 203 employees receive equal pay for equal work in a system focusing on assigned responsibilities and duties.

San Francisco: Voters support living wage.  By a 60% to 40% margin, voters approved an $8.50 citywide minimum wage. The new ordinance will apply to almost all businesses in the city – raising pay for 54,000 low-income workers and putting an estimated $45 million per year back into the San Francisco economy. They join Santa Fe and New Orleans as cities that have approved minimum wage increases. For more information, visit ACORN.

Denver: Minority-Contract Challenge Rejected.  The U.S. Supreme Court ended an 11-year battle by refusing to consider the constitutionality of a Denver minority contracting program, clearing the way for the city to grant contracts based on minority representation. Denver Post

Michigan:  Localities Slam State Cuts.  Meeting at rallies and news conferences, officials from more than 100 counties, cities, townships and villages protested more cuts in state-shared revenue--cuts they said would add to the growing list of services they've had to eliminate or cut back. Detroit Free Press and Battle Creek Enquirer.

Florida: Lantana balks at state's idea to keep land off city tax roll.  There aren't many towns that would tell the builder of a proposed cutting-edge research complex to go find another location. Officials in Lantana say they're ready to do just that.

New Jersey:  Nine employees sued Wal-Mart for failing to pay overtime, withhold taxes or make workers compensation payments. The employees, illegal immigrants that Wal-Mart employed as janitors, were arrested last month in a federal raid. Wal-Mart, the nation's largest employer, is infamous for keeping prices low at the expense of employees. Stores, especially supermarkets, are slashing wages and slicing health benefits to keep up. Visit ALICE’s section on stopping big boxes to see more.

High Road Reports

Good Jobs First released The Policy Shift to Good Jobs which shows that at least 43 states, 41 cities, and 5 counties now attach job quality standards to at least one subsidy program. The 89 jurisdictions with standards are a 35% increase since 2000, and the 165 job quality precedents are a 72% increase.

The Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) released a briefing paper on how Child Care Subsidies Promote Mothers' Employment and Children's Development. 
 

The Corporation for Economic Development issued its annual report card on the health of the states. How did your state fare? Check Here.

A new report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas shows that companies slashed twice as many jobs in October as they did in September, "providing more evidence that the nation's economy is in a period of jobless expansion."

The AFL-CIO released new reports on the economic fault lines crisscrossing each state.  The "Economic Richter Scale" makes the case that recent economic policies have made life worse for the communities we live in.  Click here for YOUR state report.

If you have innovative local legislation you like to share with the rest of the country, send it to Andy Gussert, ALICE National Director, care of andy@highroadnow.org