As Minimum Wage Debate Heats Up At Capitol, Worker-Led Week Of Action to Highlight Corporate Responsibility to End Poverty Wages in Minnesota
For Immediate Release
February 25, 2014
Contact: Josh Keller, 612-270-2984, jkeller@mnfaireconomy.org or
Greta Bergstrom, 651-336-6722, greta@takeactionminnesota.org
Community names Target, Wal-Mart & the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as obstacles to higher wages.
Minneapolis, MN (Feb. 25) – On the first day of a legislative session that is certain to be dominated by the debate over how much Legislators will raise Minnesota’s minimum wage, workers aligned with Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL), TakeAction Minnesota, OurWalmart, the Greater Minnesota Worker Center, and airport workers organizing with SEIU Local 26 will take the stage at the Raise the Wage rally at the state Capitol today to share why we cannot wait any longer to end poverty wages in our state.
The following days, these same workers will be taking the debate out of the Capitol and directly to the wealthy corporations that not only employ large numbers of low-wage workers in the state, but are standing in the way of a modest wage increase supported by an overwhelming majority of Minnesotans.
With President Obama recently calling for a $10.10 federal minimum wage and low-wage workers across the country gaining traction in their fight for higher wages, raising Minnesota’s minimum wage is currently a hot-button issue at the Capitol. But the issue isn’t new for the hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans struggling to survive and support families on part-time, minimum wage jobs — jobs paid by corporations making record profits by externalizing their costs to Minnesota taxpayers who pick up the tab for what corporate employers fail to provide their workers through living wages and decent benefits.
The sub-contracted janitors who clean stores like Target are forced to survive on poverty wages. The single moms who help make Wal-Mart profitable yet struggle to provide for themselves and their families. The airport workers who do important work like transporting passengers yet are paid the minimum wage with no benefits or raises.
Because of poverty wages, lack of benefits, and involuntary part-time hours, a report found that over 20,000 big box department store workers in Minnesota are enrolled in some form of public assistance programs, which means taxpayers are subsidizing the poverty wages for rich corporations to the tune of over $150 million per year.
Raising the minimum wage to at least $9.50, as is being proposed, would give over 350,000 Minnesotans a raise.
Workers and community allies tired of poverty wages stand together this week to highlight why corporations and our elected officials in St. Paul need to do right by working families and put an end to poverty wages in our state.
Events for the week:
Tuesday, 2/25: Raise the Wage Rally at the Capitol, 4 pm in St. Paul: http://goo.gl/R65OJ3
Wednesday, 2/26: March to End Poverty Wages, 11:15 am in Minneapolis (end at Downtown Target): http://www.bit.ly/Feb26March
Thursday 2/27: Single Mom March, 12:30 pm in Brooklyn Center (end at Walmart): http://goo.gl/1inYgT
Friday 2/28: Airport Worker Protest to End Poverty Wages at MSP, 7:30 am at Airport: http://goo.gl/ZPuRcX
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