Kansas Raise the Wage Campaign

 Take Action NOW! 

Sign the petition to Raise the Minimum Wage in Kansas from $2.65/hr to match the federal rate!

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Sign the Petition to Raise the Minimum Wage in Kansas

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

We, the undersigned, believe that 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 in 2006, there were at least 17,000 Kansas workers who are covered by the absurdly low Kansas minimum wage rather than by the federal minimum.

We believe a job should keep you out of poverty, not in poverty. Because the Kansas legislature has refused to raise the minimum wage since 1988, it is time for us to act locally. We call upon the Kansas legislature to use its authority to create a wage matching the federal level. Ultimately, in 2009, the federal minimum wage will rise to $7.25 an hour. Currently, the figure is $5.85. In 2008 it will rise to $6.55.

We say: Keep up with the rest of the country. Raise the wage to the federal minimum wage level.

Signed by: [Your name] [Your address]

Signed by:

Campaign Launched:
July 17, 2008


Background Information

What's At Stake?

Raise the Wage--Kansas

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 in 2006 17,000 Kansans were making less than $5.85 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