Raise the Kansas Wage

The Kansas minimum wage of $2.65 an hour is disgracefully low and should be raised to match the national level. According to the Department of Labor, there are now at least 17,000 Kansas workers who are covered by the absurdly low Kansas minimum wage rather than by the federal minimum.

A job should keep you out of poverty, not in poverty.  It is time, at long last, for the Kansas legislature to act.

The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee has passed the bill and now it moves on to the full Senate.

Under the  proposal, as amended, the state's wage would increase to $7.25 an hour in January 2010, after the federal rate hits that mark. The current state minimum wage is $2.65 hour and can be considered nothing but an insult to all Kansas workers. The current state minimum wage was set in 1988 and has not been raised in 20 years.

Senator Marci Francisco  has introduced a bill  to increase the state's wage to the federal minimum wage. The bi-partisan co-sponsors of the bill  are Olethea Faust-Goudeau, David Haley, Anthony Hensley, Tom Holland, Laura Kelly, Kelly Kultala, Roger Reitz, Chris Steineger, and David Wysong.

 

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject:

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

The Kansas minimum wage of $2.65 an hour is disgracefully low and should be raised to match the national level. According to the Department of Labor, there are now at least 17,000 Kansas workers who are covered by the absurdly low Kansas minimum wage rather than by the federal minimum.

I believe a job should keep you out of poverty, not in poverty.

I call upon the Kansas legislature to raise the state the State Minimum Wage to the National Level!

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
February 08, 2009


Background Information

The American Dream has always meant that if you work hard, you will be able to have a decent standard of living. In Kansas, we promote a strong work ethic and we value the ideals presented by the American Dream.

Kansas’ state minimum wage is $2.65 per hour. Kansas has the lowest minimum wage in the country. federal rate.

The Kansas Department of Labor says that 17,000 Kansans make less than $6.55 an hour.

Our state minimum wage is set so low it allows employers to legally pay a rate that keeps people in extreme poverty.* For a single mother to earn wages that just meet the federal poverty guideline for herself and two children ($17,170) at the state minimum wage, she would have to work almost 18 hours per day, every day of the year!

When workers are not able to support themselves and their families due to low wage rates, taxpayers pay the price in food stamps, child care fees, child and adult health care, housing subsidies, and transportation assistance.