The Nashville Movement

The dawn has not yet arrived. Only the light from a gas station illuminates Victor Marquina, who walked in the darkness from his garage apartment. He is a day laborer looking for work.

Marquina sits on the curb, sipping coffee as others trickle in on a warm August
morning. They wait, talking among themselves, but there is little work
to be had. Marquina has no idea whether he will be chosen to work on
this day. The same is true for the others.

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A living wage “affords the earner and her or his family the most basic costs of living without need for government support or poverty programs.” A living wage estimate does not include money spent on entertainment or savings of any kind. As detailed in the following report, Middle Tennessee Jobs with Justice has determined the following numbers for Nashville-Davidson County in 2007.

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At-large Councilman Jerry Maynard is using the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s efforts to organize sanitation workers in Memphis to begin a movement aimed at raising the wages of workers across the city, including Metro employees.

Maynard plans to address a gathering at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Southside Community Church, where he is a pastor, on the issue of improving the living wage of Nashville workers.

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