What’s wrong with our economy? People are more productive than ever, yet they don’t see their hard work reflected in their paychecks. Wages aren’t rising. We hear time and time again it is becoming extremely difficult to afford a middle-class life. No one should work full-time and live in poverty or be one paycheck away from financial disaster.
There are several ways we can raise wages for America’s working families. We need to make sure workers have a voice on the job to improve their pay by restoring the freedom to form unions and bargain collectively. We need to raise the minimum wage, including the shamefully low tipped minimum wage of $2.13 an hour, and index it to inflation. Women must earn equal pay, and workers need access to commonsense schedules and paid sick and family leave.
The AFL-CIO, workers and other organizations are being joined today by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Secretary of Labor Tom Perez and others to talk about concrete ways we can raise wages for working people at the Raising Wages Summit at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. In 2015, we are taking these conversations all over the country and hope you will weigh in online. Watch the first-ever Raising Wages Summit live today:
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #RaisingWages.