Raise the Minimum Wage

Congress has not raised the paltry $5.15 an hour minimum wage since 1997. This week, the Senate will vote on increasing the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour—but opponents will try to block it with phony proposals that actually roll back workers’ rights. In the House, Republican leaders are refusing to allow a vote on the minimum wage—even after approving the ninth raise in their own pay since minimum wage workers last got an increase. Please send the following message to urge your senators and representative to raise the minimum wage.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Raise the Minimum Wage

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

You have the opportunity to give millions of minimum wage workers a long-overdue raise, and I urge you to do so. Full-time work at the $5.15 an hour minimum wage yields only $10,712 a year--far below the poverty line even for a small family. Work should be rewarded, not punished with an inadequate minimum wage that Congress hasn't raised since 1997--while you have voted yourselves nine pay raises.

I strongly urge you to vote to increase the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour and reject any amendments that would hurt workers.

Few things are as important to me, and to millions of people like me who care deeply about economic justice, as raising the minimum wage.

I urge you to do the right thing.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
June 19, 2006

Background Information

We’re coming down to the wire. The Senate is expected to vote on a minimum wage increase this week, but opponents may try to block it with phony proposals that actually hurt workers. Meanwhile, the Republican House leadership has refused to schedule a vote even though an increase to $7.25 an hour won a solid majority vote in committee. We have fought long and hard to give America’s low-wage workers a raise. What happens depends on your action now.

Please urge your U.S. senators and representative to vote to increase the minimum wage and reject any amendments to the legislation that would hurt workers.

We expect a Senate vote on increasing the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour as soon as Wednesday. Opponents are likely to try to replace it with a much smaller increase loaded with amendments that would hurt workers—in the past, anti-worker senators have tossed in measures to eliminate overtime pay eligibility and take minimum wage protection from millions of workers. We have to demand that our senators vote to raise the wage to $7.25 an hour and reject any amendments that would hurt workers.

In the House, in the same week members approved the ninth increase in their own pay since minimum wage workers last got a raise, Republican leaders said they will not allow a vote on the minimum wage increase. Democrats in the House are determined to move an increase.

“We’re going to have a showdown on the minimum wage,” said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.).

Our job is to convince the House that America will not accept stonewalling on the minimum wage.

Congress has not increased the minimum wage since 1997—it’s still stuck at an intolerable $5.15 an hour. But meanwhile, members of Congress voted themselves nine raises—the most recent vote just last week—totaling $34,930 a year and boosting their salaries to $168,500 a year in 2007. Compare that with the $10,712 earnings of a full-time minimum wage worker. Now add in the billions in tax breaks Congress has handed over to the rich.

It’s time to raise the minimum wage. Tell your senators and representative to vote to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour and reject any amendments that would hurt workers.