Page 35 - Poverty Issues News Today

Legislation in Olympia would roll back recent gains farmworkers have made to receive overtime pay in Washington state. Senate Bill 5476 would allow agricultural employers to choose 12 weeks out of the year for which overtime rules would not apply until laborers had worked 50 hours. The 2021 overtime law is still phasing in, with time-and-a-half pay going into effect after 48 hours of work this year. ...

Progressive agricultural growers returning this week from the Food not Feed Summit in Washington, D.C., are asking their fellow farmers to consider a big transition. The summit focused on shifting federal farm policies away from huge, corporate mega-farms and raising animal feed, to adopting more environmentally-friendly practices for growing food. In Iowa, at least 5,000 Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations dot the landscape. ...

A bill to increase tax credits in the Commonwealth is backed up by research showing the credits lead to better nutrition for working families and better long-term health outcomes for children. Lawmakers want to expand the state Earned Income Tax Credit and streamline other existing dependent tax credits to help put even a few hundred dollars back in the pockets of working people, including immigrants and many essential workers. Democratic State Senator Jamie Eldridge said while food, energy an...

Better health and educational outcomes are being touted as the potential benefits as Minnesota lawmakers discuss whether to provide free school meals for all students. Supporters of the idea said it is especially critical now, to ensure all kids can get free breakfast and lunch at school, regardless of income. A legislative plan calls for state funding to be combined with annual aid from the long-standing National School Lunch Program. ...

A measure in the Washington State Legislature would provide free school meals to K-12 students, but nutrition service workers are worried they are not being considered. The American Federation of Teachers of Washington represents kitchen workers and is supportive of the bill, but the union said lawmakers also need to ensure there is enough staff to provide the meals. Kristine Bengochea, kitchen manager for the Northshore School District in King and Snohomish counties, said staffing is a key co...

A recent survey offers insight into the challenges with hunger many Nevada families are facing on a daily basis. The "Feeding Our Community" survey from the Food Bank of Northern Nevada found about half of its clients sometimes have to choose between food and transportation. One in three chooses between paying for food or medical bills. ...

Under a new project, locally sourced food is part of a food assistance program for members of the Lummi Tribe in northwest Washington. The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations is a federal program providing meals in the form of commodity boxes for low income residents. But food boxes have neglected to include culturally relevant food for the diversity of reservations across the country, instead providing options like catfish and buffalo. ...

Advocates for low-income workers in the Commonwealth said today is a reminder of the need to continue to advance Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s dream of economic justice for all, including an increase to the minimum wage and more affordable housing. The Poor Peoples Campaign was mobilized by Dr. ...

North Dakota lawmakers returned to Bismarck this week for a new legislative session, but there is a twist: Term limits are now in place after voters approved the idea last fall. The changes mean North Dakota governors can only serve two terms, and House and Senate members are limited to eight years each in their respective chambers. Those behind the ballot initiative say it will lead to more competitive elections and increased citizen involvement. ...

Its a new year, and more than 180 new laws are going into effect, which Illinoisans need to know about. The 2022 General Assembly passed bills ranging from changes to the criminal justice system to a new minimum wage. The most far-reaching new law is the Safe-T Act, an 800-page overhaul of the states criminal justice system. ...