Let Justice Roll

The Senate hearing room was packed. There were at least 10 TV cameras lined up and a bunch of reporters jockeying for good seats. It was the first time in a long while I've felt such a positive buzz in the air on Capitol Hill.

We were gathered for a news conference with grassroots activists from the six states that passed minimum wage ballot initiatives last week. UUSC is a proud member of the Let Justice Roll Living Wage campaign that helped win victories in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Montana, Missouri, and Ohio. We were there to celebrate and to call on Congress to finish the job by raising the federal minimum wage.

Our call was answered. Sen. Ted Kennedy not only credited the movement with increasing wages, but also increasing the overall voter turnout in key states that elected new leadership in Congress. He pledged, as the incoming chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, to make raising the federal minimum wage the first order of business.

A resounding cheer went up when Sen. Hillary Clinton asked the crowd, "Are you ready to let justice roll?" We are indeed!