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Tell Congress: It's Time for a REAL Vote to Raise the Minimum Wage
Congress will be in session for just a few days after the Nov. 7 election—but that will be plenty of time to give America a raise.
On Election Day, working families in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and Ohio have to get out and vote to raise their state minimum wage rates. But also we have to demand justice for workers nationwide.
Please use the letter below to tell your U.S. representative and senators that when they get back to work after the election, they must put a clean vote to raise the minimum wage at the top of their agenda.
The only thing that has blocked minimum wage workers from getting a pay raise—from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour—has been the unwillingness of Republican congressional leaders to allow a vote on a clean minimum wage bill with no poison pills and no strings attached.
Now is the time.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Raise the Minimum Wage Now
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
When you return to Washington, D.C., after the election, I strongly urge you to demand an immediate clean vote to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour--with no poison pills and no strings attached.
Minimum wage workers have been waiting a decade for a raise that can help lift their families out of poverty. The only thing stopping minimum wage workers from getting a $2.10-an-hour pay raise has been the unwillingness of Republican leaders to allow consideration of a clean minimum wage bill. When Congress gets back to work, the election will be behind us--so I hope the political games surrounding the minimum wage will end and we can have a REAL vote to give America a raise.
While you in Congress have voted yourselves raise after raise, mothers working at the minimum wage haven't been able to buy shoes for their children. Working adults have put in 10-hour days just to pay for a room for the night. Young people have doubted their lives would ever be more secure. It is beyond shame that our Congress has allowed hard-working men and women to live like this.
America's working families are fed up with the cynical political ploys congressional leaders have pulled to block a minimum wage increase. Holding it hostage to budget-busting estate tax breaks for the 8,200 wealthiest estates in America was an outrage. Minimum wage workers should not have to get in line behind Paris Hilton and the Wal-Mart heirs to receive the long-overdue pay increase they rightly deserve.
It is far past time to raise the minimum wage. In the brief post-election session, this must be a top priority.
Sincerely,
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