Copyright (c) Asheville Citizen-Times. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc.
| March 14, 2008
Section: Mountains Edition: MAIN Page: 2B Leslie Boyd STAFF STORY |
| LBOYD@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM ASHEVILLE — Just Economics kicked off its Living Wage Certification Thursday evening with a gathering at Laurey's Catering on Biltmore Avenue. The program allows businesses that pay all employees a living wage — $11.35 an hour without health benefits or $9.85 with health benefits — to place a sticker in their windows and be listed on the Just Economics Web site and in its newsletter. Isaac Coleman, a member of the Just Economics board, told the gathering of about 50 people that a living wage should be a right. "It's not about minimum wage, but a wage on which people can survive without having to ask for help," he said. "It should be a basic right. It should be in the Constitution." "I think it's important that we have people working here who can afford to live here," said Laurey Masterton, owner of Laurey's Catering. Susan Dotson-Smith, an attorney with one employee signed on right away. "I pay him $12 an hour," she said. "It was a conscious decision I made. I think it's really critical we dismantle the myth of the poverty line. That figure means nothing." Nine for-profit businesses and 11 nonprofits have signed on already. Greg Walker-Wilson, executive director of Mountain BizWorks, said he believed it was important for his nonprofit to model the right thing for the small businesses it helps to start. The object, said Sara Osmer, director of Just Economics, is to prove that businesses can prosper while paying a living wage. The agency hopes to have 50 employers participating by the end of 2008. "We need people to patronize these businesses," Masterton said. "If you don't, then I'm just a freaky idealist." PARTICIPATING EMPLOYERS Employers who have signed on to the Living Wage Certification program: American Speedy Printing Asheville-Buncombe Community Relations Council Asheville Wine Market Center for Participatory Change Children First of Buncombe County Circle of Mercy Church Dotson-Smith Law Office Fired Up! First Congregational United Church of Christ Jameson Construction Laurey's Catering Mountain BizWorks On Track Financial Education and Counseling Our Voice Pisgah legal Services Precision International Foreign Car Service St. Matthias Episcopal Church Think Green Building Temple Beth Ha Tephila Rags Reborn Eco Chic Boutique For more information, visit www.justeconomicswnc.org. |
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Copyright (c) Asheville Citizen-Times. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc. |