On July 22, the Fast Food Wage Board appointed by Gov. Cuomo came back with their recommendation to raise wages for New York's struggling fast food workers. Our voices were heard! The board unanimously agreed that current fast food wages are insufficient and that wages throughout the state should be raised to $15.

This is great news. The momentum for $15 across New York has never been stronger, and that's because thousands of New Yorkers like you came together to declare that working people deserve wages they and their families can live on.

But the fight is not over. The Wage Board's recommendations call for a gradual increase that will reach $15 in New York City in December 2018 but not until July 2021 for the rest of the state.

As Stacey Ellis, a McDonalds worker in Schenectady said after the decision yesterday, "We fight for $15 because we need it now. $9.75 next year is not enough. We're going to keep fighting."

Gov. Cuomo still has to make the final decision - and we can bet he will be hearing from the fast food industry that they want a smaller and slower increase. Let's make sure he hears from us, too, that we support the Wage Board's recommendation for $15 and that it should be implemented throughout the state as fast as possible.

Please take a moment today to tell Gov. Cuomo to stand strong and support $15 for all New York fast food workers - then ask your family and friends to do the same.