All Are Invited to a Rally Next Month in Boston on April 14
When it comes to the minimum wage, New Hampshire is definitely behind the pack. In fact, the state doesn’t even have a minimum wage — we simply default to the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour, which means we have the lowest minimum wage in the Northeast. But that doesn’t mean we have to lag behind the pack in fighting for better pay for low-income workers. That’s where the Fight for $15 — and a new SEA/SEIU Local 1984 ad-hoc committee — comes in.
That committee had its first meeting last week, according to SEA/SEIU 1984 Director Cindy Perkins of NHES, the chair of the committee. You’re invited to join the members of that committee at a Fight for $15 rally on April 14 in Boston.
Perkins said there was a great turnout at the first committee meeting, which she described as “awesome.”
“A lot of good energy and a lot of good information from (SEA Field Representative) Michelle McCord,” Perkins said.
The Fight for $15 isn’t just about raising wages for low-wage workers. Putting more money in the pockets of low-wage workers means there’s more money going out into the local economy. Moreover, the idea of the rising tide raising all ships applies here, too: everyone benefits. But Perkins said it’s also important to look at who is hurt by low-wage jobs.
“Everybody should be mad and fired up about this, not just the people earning these wages,” she said. “If you’re a taxpayer, for example, you’re paying for the public services these low-wage workers need.”
This, Perkins said, means we’re ultimately supporting large corporations such as Walmart and McDonald’s.
“We have to assume these companies know these folks working full-time for low wages are going to collect public assistance,” she said.
Workers around the country are organizing for a day of action on the fifteenth of April (get it, 4/15?), though Boston’s event will be held a day earlier because the fifteenth is the anniversary of the marathon bombing.
All are invited to join us for the rally, and we’ll even have free transportation by bus with pickups in Concord and Nashua. The family-friendly rally is from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, starting at Northeastern University in Boston. You can reserve your seat on the bus by clicking here.
Perkins said she’s excited about the rally, and hoping to see a lot of people who are similarly fired up. If you can’t make the rally, she said people are encouraged to stage local demonstrations, too (let us know by filling out the space on the rally sign-up form). If you’re interested in joining the Fight for $15 committee, Perkins said you can email her at cperkins@metrocast.net.