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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-7316
"Rather than turning legislative somersaults, members of
the Senate leadership should have allowed an up-or-down vote on increasing the
minimum wage and given American working families a well-deserved and
long-awaited raise.
For all the talking going on lately about how to help
America's working families, all American working families got today was
talk.
If we really want to keep the American Dream alive for
people who work hard and play by the rules, then we've got to raise the minimum
wage.
The President's proposal to increase the minimum wage 90
cents an hour over two years is an important way to raise the living standards
of nearly 12 million workers across the country who currently earn between
$4.25 and $5.14 an hour.
Eighty one percent of the minimum wage increase that was
passed in 1989--and went into effect in 1991--has been eaten away by
inflation.
Contrary to popular belief, the typical minimum wage
worker is not a teenager flipping hamburgers or working part-time at a record
store. More often than not, a minimum wage worker is a white woman, over age 20
working in the service sector or the retail industry.
America cannot afford to leave anyone behind. The people
who watch the kids, care for our elderly, haul the trash and sweep the halls
ought to be able to make a living doing their jobs. They do the work that keeps
America going. The very least we can do for them is to make work pay."
This fight will continue, and millions of Americans who
work hard and play by the rules will be the real winners."
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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