Today’s Action: Raise the national minimum wage

Could you live on it? Do you live on it? The current national minimum wage is $7.25/hour…more accurately known as “starvation wage.” Adjusting for inflation, the minimum wage peaked in 1968, so we’ve been heading downhill for quite some time.

The Raise the Wage Act of 2019, which would bring the national minimum wage to $15/hour by 2024 and keep pace with inflation thereafter, has passed the House and now moves on to the Senate for consideration.

If passed, the law would raise wages for 27-40 million Americans, roughly 30% of the total workforce, including 40% of African Americans and one-third of Latinx workers, and put as much as $144 billion back into the economy.

We need more Democrats…and a lot more Republicans, as always! Call or email your Senators and ask them to cosponsor the Raise the Wage Act of 2019. If they have already cosponsored, thank them!

Three out of five minimum wage jobs are held by women, including 6 million mothers. 9 million children with at least one working parent still live below the poverty line. This act would bring that number down dramatically.

If you currently work for less than $15/hour and are living the painful truth that the minimum wage hasn’t budged since 2009, we don’t need to convince you of the benefits of this act.

If you earn more than $15/hour, you’ll see the impact too. Beyond the massive ethical implications of guaranteeing living wages for all, lifting families out of poverty means fewer of your tax dollars spent on social services, empowering and uplifting poorer populations, and more money sent back into our economy by new spenders.

It’s a win all-around and a national movement that’s been in the works for years. Let’s see it across the finish line.

Email or call (202.224.3121) your Senators and demand their support of the Raise the Wage Act of 2019. Check their cosponsor status – if they aren’t on this list, ask them why they don’t want to support working families?