|
The
White House
America
deserves a raise
Hey, all --
Last Friday, I spoke at a rally in Cleveland about raising the minimum
wage. While I was there, I had the opportunity to talk with 11-year-old
Jesseca Hudson, who came out to show her support.
Before I'd even boarded my plane back to D.C., she had already emailed
me, telling me how she wanted to help in the fight to give millions of
workers the wages they deserve.
Jesseca doesn't think that someone working full-time should struggle to
make ends meet. But full-time workers earning the current federal
minimum wage of $7.25 only earn about $14,500 a year in wages -- below
the poverty line for a family of two.
That's unacceptable. And it's why the President has called on Congress
and state governments to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour --
and on businesses to act on their own to increase the pay of their
workers.
Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 will benefit about 28 million
workers across the country. And it will help businesses, too: Raising
the wage will put more money in people's pockets, which they will pump
back into the economy by spending it on goods and services in their
communities.
The bottom line: America deserves a raise.
And it's not just 11-year-olds that understand why it's a problem that
the minimum wage has lost nearly a third of its value since its peak in
1968. Nearly three out of four Americans agree we should raise the wage.
If you agree it's time that we answer the President's call to increase
the minimum wage and reward honest work, add your name and share why.
Thanks for your help.
Tom
Secretary Tom Perez
Department of Labor
|
|
|
|
