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This site will recognize businesses and organizations in six northeast Georgia counties that are Worker Friendly. |
4. How did you come up with the criteria? We began by looking at what others had done. We quickly realized that there were as many ways to come up with target wages and benefits as there were stars in the sky. For every method, there were supporters and critics. In the end, we decided to develop criteria based on what made sense to us, using data from websites that appeared to use a logical approach, obtained their data from reputable sources, and clearly articulated their algorithms. These websites were maintained by the Economic Policy Institute and the National Center for Children in Poverty. The criteria we developed are a work in progress. We know we will make mistakes. We are committed to fixing mistakes we become aware of. But we also believe that it is important to get started. Any criteria we come up with, however imperfect, are better than the current state of affairs. Our goal is to begin spending our own money in line with our values, not to develop the perfect criteria. Our first task was to identify criteria for wages. We began by identifying two levels. The first level was based on the notion of a “living wage”—one that would allow an individual or family to have the bare necessities of life. The second level we called a “sustainable” wage—one that permits a family to have not only the basic needs of life, but also to own their own home and to achieve their educational and retirement goals. In addition, we identified a beginning list of benefits that we believe are needed by all employees. Recognizing that both wages and benefits contribute to the total compensation provided to an employee, we developed a system that would recognize the contribution of both wages and benefits to the employee’s physical, economic, psychological and social well-being. We soon discovered several fundamental challenges to overcome. First, calculation of precise “living wages” required very complex calculations that were beyond our expertise. Second, it was difficult to locate figures for single earners and couples without children. Most estimates of “living” and “sustainable” wages are based on families with children. Yet our community has many households without children. This led to our third dilemma—how to derive a single recommended hourly rate given the variation in the number of working adults in a household. A final challenge was the realization that many employers, especially in certain industries, currently offer wages that would be far from most estimates of a “sustainable” wage. After months of grappling with these challenges, we developed what we hope is a simple point system that will honor employers who are making a good-faith effort to provide the wages and benefits that would allow an “average” employee (see “How are points assigned?”) to move toward the “American Dream.” As outlined below, we define the ultimate “American Dream” as being able to own the median-price home in Athens-Clarke County and having affordable health care, a reasonable amount of paid leave time, and retirement savings. Businesses receive points for both the wages and benefits they offer employees. Our system is based on a maximum of 100 points. Businesses must receive at least 50 points to be listed on our website, with at least 30 of these points coming from the wage criteria. Using a sliding scale allows employers to see how they compare to other similar employers and allows businesses and organizations to show progress over time. Employers who meet the minimum criteria through the wages and benefits they offer are designated “Worker Friendly Employers.” The actual points they receive are listed on this website. |