Workers push Johnson on $15 minimum wage
Rallygoers in Milwaukee want senator to approve $1.9T relief bill
As part of a larger push for the U.S. Senate to approve a $15 minimum wage, members of the Service Employees International Union and the Fight for $15 gathered outside the Federal Building in downtown Milwaukee to encourage Republican Sen. Ron Johnson to support the wage increase.
“We as the American people should be ashamed of ourselves to have a minimum wage at $7.25 to begin with, that’s a disgrace,” said Calena Roberts, Wisconsin field director for SEIU. “A loaf of bread costs $3 these days, a gallon of milk costs $3. You have to work an hour just to buy milk and bread, if we think about the $7.25, right? That doesn’t make any sense.”
The rally was part of a larger, national push for the coronavirus relief bill.
The House included the minimum wage increase in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill. However, getting a $15-per-hour minimum wage increase passed in the Senate is likely to be a challenge.
During his 2016 reelection campaign, Johnson opposed having a federal minimum wage.
Republicans have been critical of the bill, stating not enough funds are going directly toward coronavirus relief. It’s possible the minimum wage increase could be proposed in a separate bill if it’s not included in the final relief bill.
Roberts said the increase passed by the House should not need to be in a separate bill.
“What difference does it make if it’s in this package or in another one?” Roberts said. “The hourly wage is part of (coronavirus) relief ... we have people who can’t eat properly, their health is going to become weaker. If you don’t have a place to live you’re outside more and you have more opportunities to catch COVID. It just goes together.”
Roberts said the increase, if approved, would happen gradually over several years.
If a $15 minimum wage increase is approved, one of the people it could help is Erica Hunt.
“I’ve worked for some of the most profitable corporations in America,” Hunt said. “But I got to live in poverty. I don’t have living wages or benefits from fast food.”
Hunt said she’s worked in multiple fast-food restaurants since high school and believes having a higher wage and union representation could help protect workers like her.
“I just want protection in my life,” Hunt said. “I want protection for my health because I’m scared of COVID. I want to protect my home because I’m scared to death of evictions. I want to protect my children from the darkness of poverty wages; $15 (per hour) and a union will give my children the physical and mental wellbeing that all Americans deserve.”