Who would benefit from California raising the minimum wage?

Moms like Jessica from Carlsbad who writes,

“I have two children that I chose over education and career. The divorce made it necessary for me to go back to work and minimum wage just doesn't cut it. No family should have to choose between food and medical care, or taking a government handout because working full time is not enough, especially as the only parent.”

Indeed, 56% of the people who earn minimum wage are women and 28% have children.

Next week the Assembly’s Committee on Labor and Employment will be considering the minimum wage bill, but pin-striped corporate lobbyists are out in force lobbying against it. Your representative needs to hear from you! Will you reach out to your California Assemblymember today and tell him/her to support hard-working moms and dads by raising the minimum wage?

http://action.momsrising.org/sign/CAminimumwage/

What’s happening?

On May 29th, the California Senate approved legislation (SB 935) that would gradually raise the minimum wage from the current $8 an hour to $13 an hour in 2017 and eventually adjust it to the rate of inflation. Now the bill is heading to the Assembly and we need to keep the momentum going. Next week the Assembly’s Committee on Labor and Employment will be considering the bill. Moms and dads from around the state need their voices to be heard on this important issue.

With 24% of California’s 38 million residents living in poverty, moms like Jessica need a raise.  As it stands right now, a mom working full-time earning $8 an hour brings home just $15,360 annually before taxes. Considering that the federal poverty level for a family of four is $23,850, it’s no wonder so many California families are struggling and unable to provide fully for their children.

Moreover, study after study shows that raising the minimum wage has a positive ripple effect as these wages are spent in local stores, in our communities, and fueling our economy. Raising the minimum wage to $13 an hour will directly help over 5 million Californians by raising their incomes and will pump $23.5 billion in additional income into the state’s economy each year.

This is why we need moms and dads, to use their outside voices and tell California lawmakers that it’s time to raise the minimum wage for our hard-working families and for our economy!

http://action.momsrising.org/sign/CAminimumwage/

The raise will happen gradually ($1 each year until $13 an hour is reached in 2017 and then it will be indexed to inflation), which will allow businesses to have the time to adjust to the new wage. In the meantime, moms and other workers who earn the minimum wage will have more money to spend back into the local economy. In our consumer-fueled economy, moms make nearly three-quarters of purchasing decisions.  That’s a lot of consumer power. But it also means that when moms aren’t paid fairly, and don’t have funds to spend, our entire economy is impacted 

**Now is the time to start using your outside voice: Join me in calling on California lawmakers to raise the minimum wage.

http://action.momsrising.org/sign/CAminimumwage/

We need as many people as possible to speak out about this important bill in order to combat the highly paid corporate lobbyists who are stalking the halls of the state capitol.  After taking action, will you please link to this blog on Facebook and Twitter so we can make sure that the voices of California families are heard loud and clear in Sacramento.

Thank you for all your support of California families!

We also want to give a special shout out to our partners at the Women’s Foundation of California for all the amazing work they are doing on this issue. Thank you!