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RESOURCES
Labor rights fact sheet (pdf)

Let Justice Roll living wage resource guide (pdf)

CAMPAIGNS
Living Wage Campaigns
Fair Trade

 
Tell Congress to raise the minimum wage!
 

In the past nine years, workers making the minimum wage haven’t gotten a single raise. Over the same period, Congress has raised the pay for its own members by $31,000.

While the minimum wage of $5.15 an hour has stayed the same, its value has dropped precipitously, keeping many workers well below the poverty line established according to the federal government’s standards. UUSC is supporting living wage campaigns in many states, and raising the minimum wage was the theme of our Justice Sunday program this spring in Unitarian Universalist congregations across the United States.

It’s long past time for Congress to help the millions of low wage workers. Legislation to increase the minimum wage (H.R.2429/S.1062) has been introduced by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) respectively, but both bills are stuck in committee. Grassroots pressure is needed to force a debate and vote this year.

Take Action Now

Contact your member of Congress and urge him or her to support the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which would raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour over two years. Call the Capitol switchboard directly at 202-224-3121 where you can ask to be connected to your representative's office. Send an immediate message by e-mail through our online Legislative Action Center.

Message
  • Please support the Fair Minimum Wage Act to help millions of workers earn a wage that will enable them to support their families with dignity.


  • Right now, there are 37 million U.S. citizens, including 13 million children, living in poverty, and raising the minimum wage is the easiest thing we can do to stop the rising tide of poverty.


  • The increase would have an immediate, direct impact on more than 7 million workers and an indirect impact on millions more.  Raising the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour would mean an additional $4,370 a year, or a total annual income of $10,700, for a full-time worker, enough to pay a nationwide average of nine months of rent, 18 months of heat and electricity, or a full year’s tuition for a community college degree.

Background

Read about UUSC’s Economic Justice Program and our support for living wage initiatives. To read a news article about Sen. Kennedy’s support for an increase in the minimum wage, see "Special Martin Luther King Day event sounds call to action on living wages."