A Petition to Congress, State Legislators and City Councils

Justice, justice shall you pursue. Today the call for justice must focus on fairness and respect for working men and women in jobs across the country who do not earn enough to support themselves and their families. The situation confronting not only fast-food workers but also home health care aides, adjunct professors, airport baggage handlers and other low-wage workers is simply untenable in one of the richest societies in human history.

We call on our elected officials to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, linked to cost-of-living increases so that the lowest-paid among us are able to earn a living wage.

The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is nothing close to a living wage. If someone earning the minimum wage is fortunate enough to be able to work full-time hours (and many are not), she or he would earn only $15,080 / year, which is under the poverty line for a family of two. At the current minimum wage, workers struggle paycheck-to-paycheck, and if they are able to pay all their bills at the end of the month, they are not able to save anything for an emergency, let alone for their retirement, or additional education.

Today’s rock-bottom federal minimum wage is holding millions of Americans back from being able to reach their highest potential. Sadly, many people who have started community college or career education programs have to drop out after getting their hours cut at work or when an unforeseen emergency made tuition impossible to afford. With a $15 per hour minimum wage, many would be able to finally afford to advance their educations.

Rising wages will allow millions of people across the country to lift their heads up and look towards the future with hope. But it will also benefit our economy at-large. A $15 per hour minimum wage will inject billions of dollars into local economies as many are finally able to buy basic necessities they couldn't afford before. It will also ease state budgets, as millions who currently rely on state assistance will finally be able to afford groceries and rent without public assistance.

When many of our ancestors first came to the United States, they worked low-wage jobs in the garment sector and other industries. Our lives today are better for the struggle and pain of our forebears to secure a living wage. These gains enabled our families to raise their standards of living to where they are now, but we must never forget what it took to get here.

While a number of communities across the USA have passed ordinances to raise their minimum wages to $15, and more cities and states have passed smaller minimum wage increases that are an important first step for improving workers’ lives, our obligation is not over until every working person has the ability to support their family without undue burden.

Please sign the petition below (fill out the form to the right), and encourage others to do so as well.