Tucson

Equal Rights Amendment

$10.75/hour Median Wage? It’s Time to Break the Low-Wage Cycle in Tucson

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Equal Rights AmendmentLast Wednesday was Women’s Equality Day, in commemoration of the passage of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote in 1920.  In commemoration, the Tucson Weekly’s Maria Ines Taracena published a blog post on The Range calling attention to Tucson’s dismal standing among US cities in terms of the gender wage gap.

According a Census data analysis by SpareFoot.com, Tucson is at the bottom in terms of women’s median salary ($22,446, 2013 estimate), 5-year growth in median earnings (3%), 2013 median earnings as a percentage of men’s (73.9%) and more. An annual salary of $22,446 translates to $10.75/hour for full time work— far belong the $15/hour minimum wage promoted by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

Let’s put this into perspective. The median wage is the salary right in the middle– 50% of working women to Tucson make more than $10.75/hour and 50% make less per hour. That is criminal when you consider how many Tucson women are single mothers and when you consider the recent Congressional and Legislative attacks on poor women and their families…

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Required reading while I’m on vacay

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Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

BASE CLOSINGS CARTER

Mark and I are headed off to Sedona until Wednesday but I wanted to leave a post before we left. Read these things!

First, read Rebecca Schoenkopf’s tribute to Jimmy Carter, which is the best.

Jimmy Carter has liver cancer. Jimmy Carter is 90 years old. Jimmy Carter is one of the great Americans, if you count a globetrotting sense of adventure coupled with near-constant service to his nation and our earth. And he is fer fucking sure the greatest ex-president alive today.

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Broadway Blvd.

June 9 City Council Meeting: Broadway Coalition Redux #10? (I’ve Lost Count)

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Broadway Blvd.
Campbell and Broadway intersection on the latest Broadway widening project maps.

How wide should Broadway Blvd. be between the Snake Bridge and Country Club Rd? This seems like a never-ending question, but today– June 9– is a big day. Today, the Tucson City Council will vote on moving forward with the Broadway widening project.

You’ll remember that the Broadway Citizens Task Force meetings over the last few months have been filled with drama and intrigue. Originally, powers that be in the city/county wanted to widen Broadway to eight lanes, based upon flawed traffic projections from 20 years ago. Over and over again in meetings and on comment cards, the citizens of Tucson have said that expansion was not necessary because the city didn’t grow east, as projected– besides the fact that expansion to 8 lanes would destroy historic buildings and put small businesses out of business. That 8-lane idea was beaten back, but still the “pro-car” … er… “pro-growth” forces tried to manipulate the process.

Also, on tonight’s agenda is a discussion of the Sun Tran budget and potential route changes.

So– if you support sustainable, historically sensitive growth and transportation, come to today’s Mayor and Council Meeting and show your solidarity with the Broadway Coalition and the Tucson Bus Riders Union. Below are the details about the Broadway widening and about Sun Tran…

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