But where are the workers?

The Polk County Board of Supervisors approved a list of 13 appointments to the Minimum Wage Task Force this morning. Among the appointments are representatives of business, the faith community, and organized labor.Some of these appointments include:

• Jim Miller, executive director of the Historic Valley Junction Foundation

• Jessica Dunker, President of the Iowa Restaurant Association

• Valerie Miller-Coleman, minister at Plymouth Church

• Ken Sagar, President of the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

Noticeably absent from the list of appointments were individuals working below a living wage of $15/hr. About 60,000 Iowans in Polk County live at or below the poverty line, and tens of thousands more struggle to make ends meet with wages barely above the federal minimum wage of $7.25.“This is an encouraging first step, but the glaring absence of low wage workers themselves is disconcerting. CCI members will be at all task force meetings to make sure everyday people like low wage workers are being represented,” said Cherie Mortice, Des Moines East side resident and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Board President. “A living wage of $15/hr is good for our workers, good for our businesses, and good for our communities.”Iowa CCI is committed to working with stakeholders and decision makers to raise the wage in Polk County to a living wage of $15/hr.