(June 18, 2014 Washington, D.C.)– In the lead up to the White House Summit on Working Families on Monday, labor unions and worker organizations are highlighting the need to raise wages as key to improving the lives of all workers. The labor movement has been on the forefront of the fight to raise wages including raising the federal minimum wage and tipped wage, raising the minimum wage locally in states and cities, and ensuring that all workers have the right to a voice on the job to demand fair pay.
Today we highlight two working women who are fighting for fair pay on the job. In addition, AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Elizabeth Shuler authors a blog framing the agenda for working families:
Liz Shuler’s blog post: http://www.momsrising.org/blog/beyond-summit-sustained-focus-needed-for-working-women-and-families
Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC) shares a video that tells the story of Aisha Thurman, a waitress and mother of two, who has been a restaurant worker for the past 20 years. Her base salary for each of those years has been $2.65 an hour. The minimum tipped wage has been frozen at $2.13 since 1991. View the video here: http://rocunited.org/lot-and-sexual-harassment/
Thurman’s story is one of among millions of American women, who face similar challenges. Women hold about three quarters of the nation’s tipped wages jobs.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) features the story of Tonia McMillian, a family child care provider in California who has worked at her job for the past 21 years. Tonia says it’s the lowest paying job she’s have ever had. McMillian’s story can be found here: http://www.seiu.org/2014/06/real-economic-opportunity-for-women.php
The child care provider workforce is comprised of mostly women who are often paid low wages for providing a key service to other working families.
While Republicans in Congress have blocked attempts to raise the federal minimum wage, many states are taking an important step for workers and especially women workers, who represent about two-thirds of minimum wage workers.
Just this year, 38 states have considered minimum wage bills during the 2014 session and seven states and the District of Columbia have moved to increase their minimum wage. Seattle has approved a minimum wage of $15 per hour, the highest in the country. Three of the states have proposed increases as high as $10.10.
According to one study, raising the minimum wage to $10.10 could raise as many as 6.8 million workers out of poverty.
Tomorrow’s feature will highlight the challenges facing working women on the job.
Contact: Amaya Smith (202) 637-5018