Posted on October 27, 2006

Who can live on $240 a week?

Jeff Edwards works full-time to support his family, but clocking in 6 days a week for a nation-wide pizza chain means he barely earns $11,500 per year.
At 35, the Aurora, Colorado resident has never voted before. But this year, he's going to the polls.

That's because Amendment 42 is on the ballot, which would raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.85 an hour. It would also provide annual cost-of-living adjustments, which would help ensure wages don't stagnate as they have under the current hourly rate.

80 percent of the workers who would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage are adults, and more than half are women. Over 25 percent are parents of children under age 18 who go to work each day but struggle to pay for basic necessities like rent, food, transportation and diapers.

At a rally yesterday in Denver, the first snow storm of the year hit but that didn't dampen the excitement and determination of our union member activists. Senator John Edwards made a call to action to help raise the minimum wage for people like Jeff. But the crowd went wild when Sen. Edwards took it a step further and talked about the need for and importance of unions to restore the middle class in our country.

Working families are falling further and further behind in the global economy. Wages are stagnant as housing and health care costs are skyrocketing. An increase in the minimum wage is long overdue, and is the first step towards all workers earning a livable wage. Like Colorado, Arizona, Missouri, Montana, Ohio and Nevada also have similar proposals on the ballot, and WHEN enacted they will join 21 states plus the District of Columbia to send a strong message Washington that their refusal to raise the minimum wage for 10 years doesn't work for working families.

It also reminds Congress that they work for us. I spent the day with so many determined and optimistic working men and women, who are out knocking on doors, working the phone banks to make a difference. You can feel the energy in the air as they work to send a pro-worker leadership to represent them in Washington DC as well as in their own state.

I had a great opportunity to talk with members and leaders from Change to Win unions from the Teamsters, UNITE HERE, SEIU, Laborers, and the UFCW who were all excited about building political power to help more workers unite and have a voice.

This weekend I'll be joining our members in a multi-state swing through New England. Check back on Monday to hear about what I learned.