Received this e-mail from Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D. IL):
A single parent earning the federal minimum wage at a full-time job makes just $15,000 a year -- below the poverty line, and far from enough to support a family.
Yet this is the harsh reality for far too many of our fellow Americans. It's unconscionable, and that's why we must raise the minimum wage nationwide.
Fortunately, in this year's State of the Union address, President Obama put raising the minimum wage and economic fairness at the top of his agenda. Then last month, he signed an executive order raising the minimum wage for federal contract workers. Now Congress must act.
I'm joining together with 15 of my fellow Democratic senators and the Daily Kos community of progressive activists all across the country to thank President Obama and urge Congress to raise the federal minimum wage. We must build widespread support -- and build it now.
Click here to sign our petition at ARaiseForAmerica.com. Together, we can thank President Obama and join the call for a higher federal minimum wage.
http://www.araiseforamerica.com/...
The notion that minimum wage jobs are just "starter" jobs for teens is just flat wrong. In fact, the average American receiving minimum wage in this country is 35 years old, and many of those workers have families to support.
Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour will help lift nearly one million Americans out of poverty -- and will mean a raise for nearly 25 million workers throughout the country.
Today was the day we were supposed to begin debate on minimum wage legislation in the U.S. Senate -- but unfortunately, because we don't yet have enough support to proceed, we were forced to push it back.
Why this isn't a bipartisan issue is beyond me. It used to be.
But sadly, like so many issues, minimum wage hikes have somehow become something most GOP politicians (though not Republican voters) oppose. Will we get the handful of Republican senators we need to make this happen?
It's time to turn up the pressure -- and I need your help to do that.
Click here to join the call for a higher minimum wage, and thank President Obama for leading the charge.
http://www.araiseforamerica.com/...
Yours,
Dick Durbin
U.S. Senator
Click here to add your name:
http://www.araiseforamerica.com/...