Florida Republicans Want To Screw Workers By Implementing "Sub Minimum Wage"

Republicans in Florida are trying to once again subvert the will of their own constituents by passing a law that would create a "subminimum wage" that could be as low as $4.25 per hour for the first six months of a new job. Last year, Florida voters passed a resolution to raise the minimum wage in the state (gradually) to $15 an hour, and this new subminimum wage is a way for corporate-aligned politicians to give a major handout to employers while keeping millions in poverty. Ring of Fire's Farron Cousins explains what's happening.

Link - https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-bz-brandes-minimum-wage-exemption-bill-20211123-rdzdyd2t5fajvbfvjg3cyjqojq-story.html

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*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.

Florida Republicans are trying to undo a ballot initiative passed by Florida voters last year that would gradually raise, raise the minimum wage in our state to $15 per hour. Republicans aren't happy about that. So now they're coming up with a new proposal because we did pass the $15 minimum wage, to create what they're calling a sub minimum wage that would be roughly $4 and 25 cents an hour for the first six months of employment. Because they're, they're calling it what they say, a training wage. So for six months, whenever you start a new job, they want your employer to be able to pay you $4 and 25 cents for half a year, $4 and 25 cents an hour as part of this sub minimum wage. A year ago, the voters in Florida who while voting for Donald Trump for president in this state also said, people should have a minimum wage of $15 an hour.

And Florida Republicans came back and said, all right, we hear you. You want 15. What if we actually went down instead from what it currently is and gave you four bucks? This is insane. This is insulting, and this is going to pass. That's the worst part of this. They're going to have the support in our conservative legislature down here to pass this. But here's the thing, because it would technically undo part of a ballot initiative. This would have to go on the ballot. So the voters will have the opportunity to reject this if the legislature does in fact pass it. But the fact that they're even considering it shows you what they think of workers down here in the state of Florida. And of course this sub-minimum wage is being pushed by companies like Walmart and Universal Studios. They're pushing it here in Florida because they want to pay people below poverty wages. Our minimum wage here is already a poverty wage. And they basically want to cut it in half for six months.

Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour here in the state of Florida as was passed last year is going to pull 1.2 million Floridians out of poverty and provide a raise to 2.5 million workers in this state. And Republicans say, oh, hell no, we don't want you to have a decent life. We don't want you to have a living wage. You know, at this point I can't help but think that it really takes a special kind of stupid to vote for a Republican. This is what they think of you. This is what they want you to work for. They literally want you working for pennies. So they can exploit you, work you to death and then just replace you with the next person in line. You have to be an idiot to support something like this, to support a party like this. And I am sick and tired of having to talk about stories like this with Republicans being so blatantly and overtly evil, trying to screw over American workers and these same workers turning around a year from now, heading back to the polls and voting for these same again.