Tuesday, February 12, 2002

Living-wage forum set for Sunday

By Christine Gillette,

PORTSMOUTH — The Seacoast Living Wage Campaign wants to hear from the area's low-wage workers.

The campaign will hold a People's Forum in Portsmouth on Sunday in an effort to reach out both to those who need to earn a living wage and to others in the community interested in learning more about the campaign's efforts.

"This is a very direct way to provide access for people, access to information, access to each other," said Jennifer Hicks, an organizer of the forum. "What we have planned for two hours is an education on the economics of poverty."

The Seacoast Living Wage Campaign was formed two years ago out of concern for local residents who are employed but still earn less than what is considered a living wage on the Seacoast. "Living wage" is the term applied to the minimum a family or individual would need to earn to pay for housing, transportation and the other basic costs of living.

Studies conducted in the Seacoast area and Rockingham County indicate that this is the most expensive place in the state to live, estimating that a living wage would be equal to at least $13 an hour, according to Hicks.

The campaign hopes to eventually convince municipalities on the Seacoast to pass a living wage ordinance that would require employers to pay that as a minimum."People who are low-wage earners — that's not their fault," Hicks said. "Poverty is a cycle people get caught up in."

In many cases, she said, people who earn less than a living wage are educated individuals who hold down jobs that are important to the community, such as social workers and others who work in the service field.

But even workers who aren't highly educated deserve to earn a living wage, according to Hicks, because they serve an important function in the economy.

"If all the people that were paid less than $10 an hour — waitresses, dishwashers, housekeepers, security guards — what if all those people didn't work for one day? Would our society function? We argue no. We would be in a desperate situation," she said. "Our values are a little skewed when it comes to our economy."

For businesses that might argue against raising wages to a livable level, Hicks said they should reconsider their position because paying people adequately means they are less likely to leave their jobs, adding up to less time and money spent on training replacements. That cost can be significant, she said, particularly in some industries.

Hicks said the campaign would like workers who, in particular, earn less than a living wage to attend Sunday's forum.

"This is going to be a safe place (in which) to share, which is important," she said.

The event is the first of eight that the campaign plans to hold, thanks to a grant from the Greater Piscataqua Community Foundation. The first forum will be a needs assessment, Hicks said.

The forum will run from 2 to 4 p.m. at the South Church Unitarian Universalist, 292 State St. Transportation and child care are available. The forum is open to the public, and anyone who needs a ride or child care should call Hicks in advance at 431-5853.