Living Wage Victory by Faith-Labor-Community Coalition in Chicago

Workers employed by “big box” retailers got a raise in Chicago last week when the city council passed an ordinance requiring retailers like Wal-Mart to pay workers a living wage.

The victory demonstrates the powerful impact of faith-labor-and-community coalitions as a force for economic justice. The win also demonstrates that the movement for improving wages and rights for workers is happening most powerfully at the local and statewide level.

In Chicago, it was the sustained organizing efforts of a broad coalition of over 30 organizations that helped the living wage ordinance pass despite opposition and an expensive media and public relations campaign waged by Wal-Mart and other major retailers. This coalition included church groups and ministers, as well as labor unions and community organizations that began organizing over a year ago to help increase the wages and benefits for workers at big box retail stores.

Supporting faith-labor-community coalitions that are working to strengthen workers’ rights and living wages is a focus of UUSC’s economic justice work -- and we’re supporting our members and supporters in playing a key role in these coalitions.

Two of our program partners, Let Justice Roll and the Southern Faith-Labor Alliance, are providing national and regional muscle on living wage and worker’s rights campaigns by strengthening the participation of interfaith activists in leading coalitions and networks.

UUSC celebrates the Chicago victory as a giant step forward for working families in America!