The Shriver Report – Take Action Tuesday: Tell Congress to Raise the Minimum Wage
Navigation

Special Edition

Take Action Tuesday: Tell Congress to Raise the Minimum Wage

Take Action Tuesday is a new weekly feature that highlights ways you can take action for a cause. With the help of our friends at MomsRising, each week we compile information you need to know – and what you can do to make a difference.

Be sure to share this on Facebook and Twitter and ask your family and friends to join in, too. Because together we can bring about change.

 

Fotolia_49582439_Take Action

“In the wealthiest nation on Earth, nobody who works full time should have to live in poverty. Nobody. Not here in America.” President Obama [1]

The Cause:

President Barack Obama spoke these words on Wednesday when he signed an executive order to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors to $10.10. (Two women featured in The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink were invited to join the President as he signed the order – read more about their stories here.)

A full-time employee working at the federal minimum wage – $7.25 an hour – makes just $15,080 per year.[2] Studies show that raising the federal minimum wage will boost both the economy and families. [3]

Why Should I Care?

Too many employees are working hard and still struggling to feed themselves and their families. This hurts families. This hurts our businesses and economy. This hurts us all.

The majority of people who earn the minimum wage are women— and 28% of them have children. [4] Many them do critical work in our communities like preparing and serving food, cleaning offices and schools, and caring for the elderly. [5]

And more than half of these workers are working full-time and still living below the poverty line. [6]

Study after study shows that raising the minimum wage has a positive ripple effect as these wages are spent in local stores, our communities, and fueling our economy. In fact, studies show that 140,000 new jobs would be created by raising the minimum wage, [7] and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago says a raise in the minimum wage would help our economy by increasing household spending nationwide by about $48 billion, even benefiting the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). [8]

The President’s signature on Wednesday was a terrific start in raising the minimum wage to $10.10 for government contract workers – but now it’s up to us to make sure the minimum wage is raised to $10.10 for everyone in America—and only Congress can do that.

What Can I Do?

Sign your name here to urge your members of Congress to raise the minimum wage to boost our families and economy.

The more people who call on Congress to increase the minimum wage, the more likely it will happen.

MomsRising will be delivering this petition directly to members of Congress in the coming weeks, so don’t delay in signing. And after you do, be sure to pass it on to friends and family so they can add their voice. Share this link with them when you do.

Special thank you to MomsRising. For more, visit them at MomsRising.org or follow them on Twitter.

 

Like what you see? Receive updates from ShriverReport.org directly to your inbox by signing up for our weekly newsletter. Sign up here.

___________________________________________________________________

[1] President Obama’s remarks. February 12, 2014. http://action.momsrising.org/go/4117?t=13&akid=5173.2138982.OY8AA3.

[2] Raise the Minimum Wage. http://action.momsrising.org/go/3186?t=15&akid=5173.2138982.OY8AA3

[3] The White House. “Raise the Wage.” http://action.momsrising.org/go/4118?t=17&akid=5173.2138982.OY8AA3

[4] David Cooper and Dan Essrow. “Low-wage Workers Are Older Than You Think.” Economic Policy Institute, August 28, 2013. http://action.momsrising.org/go/3844?t=19&akid=5173.2138982.OY8AA3

[5] Bryce Covert. “Women Need a Raise in the Minimum Wage.” Forbes, July 24, 2012. http://action.momsrising.org/go/3866?t=21&akid=5173.2138982.OY8AA3

[6] Economic Policy Institute, August 28, 2013.

[7] David Cooper and Doug Hall. “Raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 would give working families, and the overall economy, a much-needed boost.” Economic Policy Institute, March 13, 2013. http://action.momsrising.org/go/3841?t=25&akid=5173.2138982.OY8AA3

[8] Cameron Davis. “Study: A Minimum Wage Hike Would Stimulate the Economy.” Think Progress, July 8, 2013. http://action.momsrising.org/go/3867?t=27&akid=5173.2138982.OY8AA3