Discussion » Questions » Current Events and News » Bernie Sanders claims to support $15/hr minimum wage. Why doesn't he pay his workers $15.00/hr? Hypocrite?

Bernie Sanders claims to support $15/hr minimum wage. Why doesn't he pay his workers $15.00/hr? Hypocrite?

Posted - July 20, 2019

Responses


  • Minimum wage was raised to 14/h on its way to 15/h by next year in the province I live in. It helps NO ONE. It cuts out entry level jobs for those in need and raises prices on basic needs for our middle class. This is what Canada gets for voting in a PM based on looks and charisma. faak that. 
      July 20, 2019 7:23 PM MDT
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  • 32459
    I agree. McDs etc are not  $15 jobs. That is a high spending money job. 
      July 20, 2019 7:35 PM MDT
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  • It’s insane. No incentive to educate ones self and leaves so many left  in welfare system. It does nothing to help anyone. It’s  a get your vote gimmick, sounds great until it’s reality and left with the reality of what 15 min an hour really means for everyone. 
      July 20, 2019 7:44 PM MDT
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  • 32459
    Exactly it is buying votes with other people's money. 
      July 20, 2019 8:17 PM MDT
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  • Agreed, it’s playing to the desperate and uneducated in what raising min wage really means. 
      July 20, 2019 8:19 PM MDT
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  • 7280
    You have a good grasp of economics, Jamie.    
      July 21, 2019 4:51 PM MDT
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  • 7280
    Wages are also about the redistribution of wealth in a society.  I'm all for people making a "living wage," but generally speaking, I would prefer it be their value to the organization rather than just their presence.  (Of course, I'm all for the value of a soldier's "presence.")
      July 21, 2019 4:55 PM MDT
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  • 2836

    No Need to reinvent the wheel:

    "It’s true Sanders pays his interns $12 an hour, as noted by a page on the candidate’s own Senate web site that clearly states that “interns are paid $12 per hour.” This, however, does not necessarily mean that Sanders gave himself a “pass” on his proposal to raise the minimum wage.

    First, the above-displayed meme uses the confusing term “staff interns,” which has led many people to believe that the senator only pays his staff members $12 per hour. This pay rate, however, applies only interns (who in many occupational fields work without compensation or for very low pay in return for gaining valuable experience) filling positions available to college students and recent graduates seeking work in Congress:

    Interns are an integral part of our Senate operation and contribute greatly to the senator’s work on behalf of Vermont and the nation. Senate interns have the unique privilege of gaining an insider’s perspective on the legislative and representative process. Our Washington and Burlington offices offer paid full- and part-time internships tailored for recent graduates and current students at the undergraduate or graduate level.

    Second, the national minimum wage does not apply to internships. The Fair Labor Standards Act lists six criteria (such as “the internship experience is for the benefit of the intern”) that private sector companies may meet in order to offer unpaid internships, and Congress has further exempted itself from some of these standards. According to an article published in the Atlantic, only one third of U.S. senators paid their interns anything at all in 2013."

    Please take the time to do your research before making false asumptions and spreading more conservative lies.
    https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sanders-interns-minimum-wage/

    This post was edited by Jon at July 20, 2019 9:05 PM MDT
      July 20, 2019 7:27 PM MDT
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  • 32459
    Sorry but minimum wage should apply to all workers....nice try. If you want to pass a law to force me to pay $15/hr then you had better be paying it yourself. Just because there is a law allowing you to short your employees does not mean you should. 

    ACORN did the same thing years back.  This post was edited by my2cents at July 21, 2019 12:04 PM MDT
      July 20, 2019 7:36 PM MDT
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  • 2836
    Sorry, but you are propegating Conservative lies and distortions.

     "only one third of U.S. senators paid their interns anything at all in 2013."
    Bernie is one of them. What do the republican pay theirs? lol
    Bernie Sanders has more integrity in his stools than 99% of the douchenozles calling themselves "republicans" including that  bigoted garbage in the whitehouse.
    You may not like Sanders policies but I find your putrid smear of a good man revolting. 
     
    Why are you a moderator? To keep the conservative narrative going?

    Do your research
    This post was edited by Jon at July 24, 2019 7:40 PM MDT
      July 20, 2019 7:48 PM MDT
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  • 2836
    "Sorry but minimum wage should apply to all workers."

    And you are saying that you are for a $15 minimum wage. Interesting.

    BTW Whern you start talking about law allowing people to short employees, you need to open your eyes to what your Trump God has done to his people. He doesn;t even pay them for chrissakes and he hires undocumented immigrants for chrissakes.

    Please...stop caring for people who make minimum 
    I see a lot of phony empathy on display here lately 
    ;)

     
      July 20, 2019 7:59 PM MDT
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  • 32459
    Nope. I am saying if someone thinks the law should require employers to pay workers a certain amount then they should be the first to step up and pay all their workers even interns that amount. 
    The fact that Congress has exempted themselves from the minimum wage law is absolutely ridiculous.

    (I do pay my workers $15/hr by the way but I do not think the gov should require it)
      July 20, 2019 8:16 PM MDT
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  • 2836

    Read the article again...

    "The fact that Congress has exempted themselves from the minimum wage law is absolutely ridiculous."

    When did they do that? Oh..when they were under Conservative control

      July 20, 2019 11:56 PM MDT
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  • 32459
    Does not matter under whose control it was done....it is still ridiculous. Congress should never be allowed to exempt themselves from the laws they write. 

    If Bernie wants to require employers to pay it then he should step up to the plate and pay it. That is not a smear. Your article shows he does not pay it to all his workers. So he should step up for shut up. 

    I am a moderator because JA asked for help. And I decided to help. 
      July 21, 2019 4:55 AM MDT
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  • 2836
    There are more members in Congress than Bernie.
    Like I said, take the time and read the article. 

    You are a moderator and JA does NOT pay you $15 an hour. She could, but she doesn't 



    This post was edited by Jon at July 24, 2019 7:40 PM MDT
      July 21, 2019 10:14 AM MDT
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  • 32459
    I think all Congress (every single member) should pay all their workers. At least minimum wage and if they support a higher minimum wage then they should step up and pay it before thinking of requiring others to pay it.

    I do not work for JA....I am not an employee/intern etc. I am a volunteer. I am not required to be a mod, I do not have hours I must report for duty etc. So no JA does not owe me anything for volunteering as a moderator. 
      July 21, 2019 10:52 AM MDT
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  • 2836

    "I do not work for JA....I am not an employee/intern etc. I am a volunteer. I am not required to be a mod, I do not have hours I must report for duty etc. So no JA does not owe me anything for volunteering as a moderator. "

    EXACTLY


      July 21, 2019 10:54 AM MDT
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  • 32459
    No, an intern is a worker....not a volunteer. They have set hours they are required to be on duty. They have tasks that they are required and expected to do and a timeline in which it is to be done. That is an employee. 

    As such they should be paid and if their boss claims to believe in a higher wage that boss  should be paying that his/her workers.
      July 21, 2019 3:01 PM MDT
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  • 7280
    You have made an error that is very simple for me to correct: 

    An internship is an opportunity offered by an employer to potential employees, called interns, to work at a firm for a fixed period of time. Interns are usually undergraduates or students, and most internships last between a month and three months. ... An internship can be either paid or voluntary.
      July 21, 2019 4:45 PM MDT
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  • 32459
    The person is working they should be paid....it is a disgrace that it is legal to not pay a worker. 
      July 21, 2019 7:50 PM MDT
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  • 2836
    N o./..You need to learn about Interns.
    Not all Interns are paid,
    That is a a fact
    The more an intern is used to benefit a for-profit employer, and the internperforms productive work, it is more likely that the intern is an employee under the FLSA, and therefore entitled to be paid properly. Interns for state and local government, as well as certain types of nonprofit internships, are exempt from some of the restrictions that govern unpaid internships.
      July 24, 2019 8:03 PM MDT
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  • 4631
    Interns are not workers.

    They are trainees - apprentices - half-way between students and workers.

    They're apt to make a lot of mistakes, and the mistakes will be forgiven as learning experiences.

      July 21, 2019 12:35 PM MDT
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  • 32459
    They should be paid. They are working. I have never had a job were I was not paid while being trained. It should not be legal.
      July 21, 2019 5:17 PM MDT
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  • 2706
    Hypocrite? I have to say yes. It's the old do as I say not as I do scenario. :)
      July 20, 2019 7:45 PM MDT
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