By Guest Contributor, on September 19th, 2013 
On the 17th of September, supporters of the Large Retailer Accountability Act gathered in front of the Wilson Building for an attempt to stiffen coucilmember’s backbones. Mayor Gray has chosen Wal-Mart over low income workers and good jobs by vetoing the bill, as this is written it is yet to be seen if the Council will have the backbone to override.
Many speakers warned that “their next mayor” supports the LRAA, meaning that the councilmembers who are running for Mayor lose their votes unless they vote to override the Mayor’s Wal-Mart ordered veto of the LRAA.
Some possible next steps:
1: A ballot initiative identical to the LRAA. Does not involve the city’s budget so it can be done by ballot initiative. Poll results for the LRAA indicate this would pass, and door to door work has already been done to collect some of the poll data
2: Recall campaigns could be mounted against Councilmembers who voted with the Mayor. Anita Bonds would be an obvious targets, but difficult as she is at-large.
Tommy Wells and Murial Bowser should forget about their campaigns for mayor, they may have just made themselves unelectable, effectively recalling themselves before they could ever be elected in the first place.
3: Allegations of financial ties between Mayor Gray and Wal-Mart should be pursued aggressively. The Mayor is already worried about the danger of indictment for soliciting illegal campaign contributions, and for failure to report “shadow campaign” income and expenses. If any illegal funds are traced to Wal-Mart, the Mayor’s career is over, regardless of whether or not any indictment is ever issued.
When if comes to dealing with Wal-Mart and the proliferation of jobs that don’t pay enough to stay off welfare, no option should be off the table, no punches should be pulled, no quarter asked or given.
By Guest Contributor, on September 9th, 2013 
Cross-Posted on Behalf of Respect DC
Living Wage Supporters-
Friday afternoon the DC Council transmitted the Large Retailer Accountability Act to Mayor Gray for him to sign or veto. The people of DC have told him loudly and clearly that we want him to sign the LRAA! Tuesday, hundreds turned out at Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church and heard speaker after speaker give powerful and inspirational testimony about why DC needs a retail living wage.
If the Mayor has not heard from you yet, you can contact him here<http://afl.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2qBBm%2B7Z9j40GqaLlSXA%2FIsPugpGnc3q>and call him at 888-264-6154.
Now is the time to spread the word to all of your family and friends. Mayor Gray could act on the bill any time before Friday, September 13, 2013. Make sure he has heard from you.<http://afl.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=sZWGTvpRoQMMUSfFq0LfCixTt6VOc8jN>
In addition, we are going to continue our canvassing efforts. We have collected thousands of petition signatures and personal stories from Ward 7 residents in support of the LRAA. You can read some here<http://afl.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=qJnETRztAhsZ3KIBNyLKWixTt6VOc8jN>. More than 9 out of 10 of the people we talked to have signed our petition in support of the bill. People in Ward 7 and across the city are calling on Mayor Gray to stand up to the large, out of town corporations trying to bully our city into accepting poverty wage jobs. Sign up here to join us for canvassing.<http://afl.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ribyX%2BmiD%2F5QoxmLBbIJryxTt6VOc8jN>
The time for action is now. Mayor Gray has the chance to follow in the footsteps of the leaders of the original March on Washington, just after celebrating its 50th anniversary, by taking a big step toward a living wage for all. Contact Mayor Gray today, and tell him to sign the LRAA!<http://afl.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Ccs7CynzSJwutr0WKW4%2BcCxTt6VOc8jN>
-Mike Wilson, Respect DC Organizer
By Guest Contributor, on September 5th, 2013 
Cross-Posted from the DC Independent Media Center by Luke
Petitions for LRAA (living wage) act delivered to Mayor after press conference
On the 3rd of September, DC Councilmember Vincent Orange held a press conference in front of the Wilson Building along with supporters of the Large Retailer Accountability Act (LRAA).
They were demanding that Mayor Gray sign the LRAA instead of bowing to Wal-Mart’s brazen threats to leave the city if the bill is signed into law. Speakers pointed out that in 1963 during the Jobs and Freedom March, Dr Martin Luther King demanded a minimum wage of $2 an hour. In 2013 dollars, that is over $15 an hour, yet the LRAA only mandates $12.50 an hour inclusive of benefits.
Several speakers also pointed out that longtime District residents, who held out through the Crack Wars and the lean years to stay in the city, requires more than $8 and change an hour now that all those condos are going up.
At the conclusion of the press conference, a box containing 36,917 (according to speakers) signed petitions asking the Mayor to sign the LRAA were taken inside and delivered to his office.
Town Hall meeting in Anacostia demands that Mayor Gray sign Living Wage bill
On the evening of the 27th of August, community members and activists packed into the Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church to demand that Mayor Gray sign the Large Retailer Accountability Act.
DC Councilmembers Phil Mendelson and Vincent Orange both spoke to support the LRAA. Both Mendelson and Reverend Curry (senior pastor at the Church) held up pens and demanded that the Mayor sign the bill.
Phil Mendelson bluntly condemned the Mayor’s hypocrisy in appearing at the Martin Luther King and Statehood events on Saturday, yet leaning towards vetoing the LRAA.
Other speakers debunked the lies Wal-Mart has been spreading with facts about how states and cities that raised their minimum wages over the past 20 years have not had higher unemployment than those that did not.
One of the speakers pointed out that the $2 minimum wage demanded by organizers of the original 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom would be worth $15 an hour today, and the LRAA is only asking for $12.50 an hour.
Near the end, Reverend Hagler condemned Mayor Gray for taking “30 pieces of silver” from Wal-Mart. Those 30 pieces of silver will drag Mr Gray out of office and right into the gutter, ending his career if he vetoes a living wage for workers at Wal-Mart, Target, and Home Depot!
By Grassroots DC, on July 15th, 2013 
Last week, the District’s most vulnerable residents organized to win two major victories in the City Council: the Large Retailer Accountability Act (LRAA), which would require big box stores to pay their employees a living wage, and which effectively prevented the expansion of six Walmart stores within the District; and the Driver Safety Amendment Act (DSAA), which grants the City’s 25,000 undocumented residents the ability to obtain a driver’s license without a mark indicating their undocumented status.
In the first hour of debate over the LRAA it was revealed that Walmart’s CEO Michael Duke made nearly $17,000,000 – a figure well over what his workers earn in a year. Despite this, Councilmembers bickered over whether the bill was a boon or a bust to DC’s low-income residents. The division was due, in large part, to Walmart’s recent threats to pull out of DC if the measure were to pass. At-Large Councilmember Vincent Orange argued that “DC has made it” and doesn’t need to cater to large retailers by accepting low wages. Councilmembers Alexander (Ward 7) and Bowser (Ward 4) decried the lost jobs and retail opportunities for the residents in their wards.
Meanwhile, taxpayers are the ones ultimately funding the financial incentives to lure these retailers into the District. Just this time last year, the city approved a tax incentive to the tune of $32.5 million dollars to headquarter LivingSocial in DC. Despite being located in one of the most rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods in the District, the DC-USA shopping center in Columbia Heights received $40 million for its development (See the Fiscal Policy Institute Article It’s Time To Stop Shopping For Supermarket Tax Breaks.) What’s worse, these taxpayer-funded incentives for large development projects or corporations often come with no strings attached–no requirement to pay living wages, provide job training, or engage meaningfully with the community and their concerns.
After heated debate, the bill ultimately passed 8-5 but still awaits the Mayor’s approval. If he signs it, large retailers must pay their employees a minimum of $12.50/hour, calculated to be a living wage in the District. This would be an increase from the current minimum of $8.50/hour.
Big box stores are not going to be the drivers of economic revitalization. In fact, Think Progress reported: “Walmart’s refusal to pay their employees a livable wage translates into a bigger burden for taxpayers. A Congressional report found that, “the workforce of a single Walmart store [can] consume roughly a million dollars in public benefits every year, relying on “safety net” programs like Medicaid, food stamps, school lunch, and housing assistance to survive.” On the other hand, mutually supportive networks of small businesses and households are known to create a more robust local economy. Low- and moderate-income people, together with small business owners, can help sustain each other, rather than expecting an ethically abysmal multinational corporation to bring in decent jobs or training.
Another important victory impacting the residents of DC is the Driver’s Safety Amendment Act (DSAA), which was passed unanimously in last week’s vote. In issuing licenses to undocumented residents, the Council (and advocates) hope to create safer driving conditions for everyone on the road by ensuring that undocumented drivers have the opportunity to pass road safety tests and acquire insurance for their vehicles. More importantly, the success of the “One City, One License” campaign marked a step forward in civil rights and equality.
Report on DSAA by Ben King for Fress Speech Radio News [audio:http://www.grassrootsdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Ben_King_FSRN_Report-DSAA.mp3]
Advocates also say it will improve the economic prospects of many of the city’s low-income residents who couldn’t obtain licenses before. While it was being debated at the committee level, supporters of the bill packed the hearing room to share stories about the consequences of not having a valid drivers license. Many testified that without the opportunity to get a driver’s license and vehicle, they have difficulty commuting to jobs in places where public transportation is sparse or unreliable. Others said they became accustomed to paying unofficial taxi drivers to get around, many of whom would overcharge for rides knowing their passengers had little recourse. Elderly men and women described the physical toll of walking to and waiting at bus stops, especially during inclement weather.
Jose Alvarado Describes the Economic Benefit of DSAA [audio:http://www.grassrootsdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Jose-Alvarado-Describes-Economic-Benefit-of-DSAA.mp3]
Aside from the benefits to public safety and economic security this measure provides, perhaps the bigger success of DSAA’s passage is that it does not identify the cardholder as undocumented. The Mayor’s original proposal would have created a two-tiered system marking the . . . → Read More: That’s How You Win Campaigns: What DC’s Progressive Community Did Right In the Final Legislative Session of 2013
By Guest Contributor, on July 10th, 2013 
Cross-Posted From DC Independent Media Center By Luke
The Large Retailer Accountability Act Clearly Supported By DC’s Progressive Community
On the 10th of July labor and neighborhood activists held a rally outside the Wilson Building to support passage of the Large Retailer Accountability Act. It would raise the minimum wage in certain big box stores to $12.50 an hour. Wal-Mart has vowed to abandon at least half their plans to open stores in DC if this passes. Rev Hagler told them not once but twice to “Go to Hell” during his speech!
I think this is the first time I’ve ever heard any pastor tell anyone to go to Hell, but if anyone deserves it, Wal-Mart does, especially in light of their resort to extortion when bribery failed.
Workers from several big box stores complained about being unable to afford to shop where they work due to law wages. One man who works at a Wal-Mart said he could not even afford to have his own place due to the wages Wal-Mart pays.
After the rally, activists went into the Wilson Building to confront several anti-LRAA councilmembers, then observe the vote. I could not go with them, as the Wilson Building is an ID and bag search building.
Wal-Mart has also crudely threatened the DC Council. On the 9th of July, less than 24 hours before the final vote on the LRAA, Wal-Mart lobbyists bluntly said they could cancel their Skyland and two other unbuilt stores if the bill is signed into law. They also said they might abandon (“reconsider”) the three stores under construction. Well, this extortion won’t exactly break DC”s legs, as a lot of people would rather have an abandoned Wal-Mart than an open one in their neighborhood!
This Just In! from Grassroots DC’s Coordinator
DC’s City Council voted for the Large Retail Accountability Act. The vote was not unanimous. Councilmembers Yvette Alexander (Ward 7), Muriel Bowser (Ward 4), David Catania (At-Large), Mary Cheh (Ward 3) and Tommy Wells (Ward 6) all voted against the bill. We must still wait to see if Mayor Gray signs on or vetoes the bill, but it looks like years of pressure from community groups, labor and individual activists is turning the tide against a Walmart invasion of the District of Columbia. Is this what democracy looks like? I think maybe so.
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