Congress Raises the Minimum Wage
A long overdue step towards a high-road economy
Our nation's poorest workers will finally be getting a much-needed boost when the minimum wage goes up in July. Congress and the White House should have done what 33 states and the District of Columbia did earlier, and raise the minimum wage above $5.15 without holding it hostage to war and tax cuts.
Raising the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 over 26 months will put much-needed dollars in the hands of workers for whom every dollar counts in the struggle to pay rent, food, healthcare and other necessities. After a decade without a raise, the value of today's federal minimum wage is lower than it was in 1950.
Workers have a lot of ground to make up. The minimum wage of 1968 had the purchasing power of $9.50.
AFSC will continue its work, in partnership with Let Justice Roll in the states and at the federal level to ensure that everyone who works for a living can earn a living wage.
Most recently, in May AFSC lead a successful effort in New Hampshire to raise the state minimum wage. This success came along with Let Justice Roll victories in Tennessee, and Indiana. Let Justice Roll is currently supporting active living wage campaigns in Kansas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Cleveland, Ohio.
"There is nothing but a lack of social vision to prevent us from paying an adequate wage to every American [worker] whether he is a hospital worker, laundry worker, maid, or day laborer." -The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This victory is only the first step towards a fair and just wages for all workers.
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