Raise the Wage Act of 2019 Letter of Support

The undersigned organizations enthusiastically support the Raise the Wage Act of 2019, as introduced by Senators Bernie Sanders (VT) and Patty Murray (WA), Representatives Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA), Mark Pocan (WI) and Stephanie Murphy (FL).

If enacted, this legislation would:

  • Raise the federal minimum wage to $8.55 this year and increase it over the next five years until it reaches $15 an hour in 2024;
  • After 2024, adjust the minimum wage each year to keep pace with growth in the typical worker’s wages;
  • Phase out the outdated subminimum wage for tipped workers, which has been frozen at a meager $2.13 since 1991; and,
  • Sunset the much criticized ability of employers to pay workers with disabilities a subminimum wage through certificates issued by DOL.
  • Phase out the subminimum wage for workers under the age of 20.

At a time when wage stagnation and income inequality pose serious threats to our families and our economy, the Raise the Wage Act of 2019 will begin to reverse that cycle and raise pay broadly across the bottom of the workforce. According to the Economic Policy Institute, this Act will deliver long-overdue raises to more than 1 in 4 workers, 90% of whom are over the age of 20. The average age of workers who would get a raise is 35, and nearly half have some years of college education. In fact, those who work year-round would see a raise in the order of $3,000 a year, which is enough to make a tremendous difference in the life of a preschool teacher, bank teller, or fast-food worker who today struggles to get by on around $20,000 per year.

28 percent are working parents with children, and half have family incomes of less than $40,000 per year. Women make up nearly 58 percent of the workers who would benefit from a $15 minimum wage, which would be instrumental in helping to close the gender-wage-gap. Raising the minimum wage to $15 would also significantly benefit workers of color, with 38 percent of African American workers and 33 percent of Latinos seeing a pay increase once this law goes into effect.

These are the frontline workers who make America run—yet due to the erosion of the real value of the minimum wage over the last half century, they are struggling even as our economy enjoys a solid recovery.

The time for the Raise the Wage Act is long overdue, and we cannot delay in working toward its passage.  We call on Congress to enact this important piece of legislation as quickly as possible, and for President Trump to sign it when it comes to his desk.

Economic Policy Institute

National Employment Law Project

9to5
A Better Balance
A Place at the Table
AAUW Texas
Abortion Care Network
ACCESS Women’s Health Justice
Accessible Housing Resources, Inc. (AHRI)
Action Inc.
Action Together NEPA
ADAPT Montana
Advocate For Justice Inc.
Advocates for Youth
AFL-CIO
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AIDS Alabama South, LLC
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Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Inc.
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American Association of People with Disabilities
American Association of University Women
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO
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American Postal Workers Union – St Louis Gateway District Area Local
American Psychological Association
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Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)
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Arizona Center for Economic Progress
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Center for Popular Democracy Action
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Chicago Chapter of RESULTS, Domestic
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Global Justice Institute, Metropolitan Community Churches
Godwin-Ternbach Museum, Queens College, CUNY
Good Jobs Nation
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Greater Kansas City Coalition of Labor Union Women
Greater New Jersey CLUW Chapter
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Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart
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HANA Center
Hawaii Appleseed
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Headstart
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HEAR US Inc.
Hill Snowdon Foundation
Hispanic Federation
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Inspirational Gospel Assembly
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International Labor Rights Forum
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Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Jackson State University
Jewish Women International
Jobs with Justice
Just Harvest: A Center for Action Against Hunger
Justice and Advocacy Committee of the Lehigh Conference of Churches
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Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes
Kansas Association of Community Action Programs
Kentucky Equal Justice Center
Kentucky State AFL-CIO
Keystone Progress
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Kings Local Food Pantry
Korean Resource Center
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Labor Education Program, School of Labor and Employment Relations, University of Illinois
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Law Foundation of Silicon Valley
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Leadership Conference of Women Religious
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