Black Lives Matter.
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

NC Council of Churches

Strength in Unity, Peace through Justice

  • Voices
  • About
    • Overview
    • Staff
    • Members
    • Covenant Partners
    • Issue Statements
    • Governing Board
  • Programs
    • Ecumenical Immigration Alliance
      • Ideas for Action
      • Sign Our Statement
      • The NC Sanctuary Coalition
      • Immigration Bible Study
      • Contact
    • NC Interfaith Power & Light
      • NCIPL Overview
      • Faith in Action NCIPL
      • NCIPL Articles
      • NCIPL Resources
      • Upcoming Events for NCIPL
      • Contact NCIPL
    • Partners in Health & Wholeness
      • PHW Staff
      • Mini-Grants
      • PHW Collaborative Pledge
      • The Overdose Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
      • PHW Articles
      • FAQs
  • Priorities
    • Racial Justice
    • The Overdose Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
    • Gun Violence Prevention
    • Public Education
    • NC Sanctuary Coalition
    • Farmworkers
    • Legislative Advocacy
    • Christian Unity
    • Peace
    • NC No Torture
  • COVID-19 Resources
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Publications & Reports
    • Raleigh Report
    • Lectionary
    • Sermons
  • Donate
  • Council Store
  • Show Search

Search NC Council of Churches

Hide Search

A Living Wage for North Carolina: An Introduction

Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate · September 12, 2006 · Leave a Comment

Click here to download (1.6 Mb)

From the Preface:

A Living Wage for North Carolina: An Introduction is intended to be just that: an introduction. Exhaustive research abounds on the subjects of the minimum wage and living wage. Yet often these studies—while thorough and informative—assume that the reader has a certain level of expertise. This brief resource seeks to be a primer for readers who are interested in fair wages but do not have the background or resources available to conduct an independent investigation.

A Living Wage for North Carolina begins with the origins and inadequacy of the minimum wage in North Carolina and the U.S. This is a proper starting point: to understand the necessity and benefits of a living wage, one must first understand the shortcomings of the current minimum wage. From there, this resource explores what a living wage is, how it is calculated, and how it has been implemented in North Carolina using two recent cases in the city of Durham, and Orange County.

The research of John Quinterno, Elizabeth Jordan, and Sorien Schmidt (among others) of the North Carolina Justice Center in Raleigh informs much of the data contained in this primer. The Justice Center is a leading private, non-profit, anti-poverty organization. We as North Carolinians are extremely fortunate to have this organization in our midst, continually fighting for social justice and looking out for those society deems marginal.

Finally, as this resource originates within the North Carolina Council of Churches, a faith perspective also is offered about the need for fair wages in this state and country. Some of this material is informed by the work of Rev. Dr. Paul Sherry and Holly Sklar of Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign: Faith and Community Voices Against Poverty out of Washington, D.C. Dr. Sherry and Sklar’s tireless work around the minimum and living wage shows that there is hope yet for those who are unable to make ends meet in our wealthy country.

We hope this resource will encourage readers to begin exploring in depth the need for a living wage, and to, perhaps, begin the process of implementing a living wage ordinance in their communities.

Jason R. Jenkins
Program Associate
North Carolina Council of Churches
Fall 2006

Filed Under: Resources Tagged With: Economic Justice, Living Wage

Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

About Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Chris worked on immigrant rights, farmworker justice, sustainability, worship resources, and the Council's website. He left the Council in 2014 to run Tomatillo Design, a company that builds affordable websites for nonprofits.

Reader Interactions

More Like This

Raise the Wage
Raleigh Report – April 29, 2019
Raleigh Report – April 22, 2019

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Anonymous comments or comments that target individuals will not be posted (please include your first and last name). All comments must be on topic and respectful. Comments will not be posted until they have been reviewed by a moderator. Comments do not reflect the positions of the NC Council of Churches.

Footer

Contact

NC Council of Churches
27 Horne St.
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 828-6501
info@ncchurches.org

Facebook

Partners in Health and Wholeness

Featured

A Living Wage for North Carolina: An Introduction

Latest Tweets

ICYMI: Check out our spotlight piece on Olive Branch Ministry, Hickory, to learn more about their faith-based harm reduction work serving the foothills and piedmont of North Carolina. ncchurches.org/2021/…

About 11 hours ago

This Earth Month, we're calling on our network to advocate with compassion for a just & sustainable future. To support you in this hard & holy work, @NCIPL complied a toolkit with policy positions, calls to action, & how we engage in faith-based advocacy. ncchurches.org/advoc…

About 14 hours ago

Make sure to register for our upcoming Legislative Seminar. Our opening worship service and award ceremony will honor Michael S. Regan, Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency, with the Faith Active in Public Life award. ncchurches.ourpowerb… pic.twitter.com/rG7U…

About 2 days ago

Faith Climate Action Week is coming up! This year's theme is Sacred Ground: Cultivating Connections Between our Faith, our Food, and the Climate. Follow the link to find events >> faithclimateactionwe…

About 4 days ago

2021 is the year for drawing districts in each state after the completion of the US Census. Check out the @LWV's blog on encouraging people to speak up about the drawing of fair maps. Read now >> lwv.org/blog/redistr… pic.twitter.com/4KMR…

Last week

Follow @ncchurches

Latest Tweets

Now that all North Carolinians age 16+ are eligible to receive a #COVID19 vaccine, use the @ncdhhs resource hub to find a local provider near you to get your shot! #MySpotMyShotNC #NC covid19.ncdhhs.gov/v… #MindfulTogether

Yesterday

Join us next Thurs., April 22 for our Sacred Conversations event on caring for creation. We'll be discussing environmental caretaking, collective action, and our Sustainability Pledge. Register online at ncchurches.ourpowerb… @NCIPL #MindfulTogether #EarthDay pic.twitter.com/GTpI…

About 2 days ago

Read our spotlight piece on Olive Branch Ministry to learn more about their faith-based harm reduction work serving the foothills and piedmont of North Carolina. ncchurches.org/2021/… @olivebranchgals #MindfulTogether pic.twitter.com/xj2U…

About 3 days ago

Our work has led us to recognize the impact our environment has on our health and ability to flourish. Click below to read more about our commitment to being stewards of God’s good Creation through our Sustainability Pledge. ncchurches.org/phw-s… @NCIPL #MindfulTogether

About 4 days ago

Awesome opportunity from our partners at @emergingissues! #MindfulTogether twitter.com/emerging…

About 5 days ago

Follow @healthandfaith

Latest Tweets

RT @healthandfaith Join us next Thurs., April 22 for our Sacred Conversations event on caring for creation. We'll be discussing environmental caretaking, collective action, and our Sustainability Pledge. Register online at ncchurches.ourpowerb… @NCIPL #MindfulTogether #EarthDay pic.twitter.com/GTpI…

Yesterday

RT @GretaThunberg Wealthiest 1% produce double the combined CO2 emissions of poorest 50%. "We have got to cut over-consumption and the best place to start is over-consumption among the polluting elites who contribute by far more than their share of carbon emissions." bbc.com/news/science…

About 3 days ago

RT @PriceofOil We’re proud to support this crucial new report from @greenpeaceusa, @Mvmnt4BlkLives, & @GCCLP. Every stage of oil, gas, & coal production contributes to racial injustice. We can tackle climate change & racism together by phasing out fossil fuels. Read: bit.ly/FFracismblog pic.twitter.com/xRn1…

About 3 days ago

RT @StopCorpAbuse Every stage of oil, gas, and coal production contributes to racial injustice. We deserve a world beyond fossil fuels. Take action to #EndFossilFuelRacism: bit.ly/FFracismblog pic.twitter.com/oSwE…

About 3 days ago

RT @ClimatePower Your daily reminder: pic.twitter.com/DEvP…

About 3 days ago

Follow @ncipl

Latest Tweets

Copyright © 2021 NC Council of Churches · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design · Hosted by WP Engine