The federal minimum hourly wage of just $7.25 has not increased since 2009, and inflation has reduced its effective buying power today to only $5.93 in 2009 dollars. Raising it to $15/hour would lift pay for 27 million workers nationwide—a fifth of the U.S. labor force. Over the next four years, it would provide an additional $333 billion in wages for the country’s lowest-paid workers. Raising the federal minimum wage to $15/hour is the single most effective legislative step that can be taken to lift families out of poverty and combat growing inequality in wealth and economic power. President Biden and VP Harris have asked that it be included in the COVID relief bill.
Republicans have always opposed the minimum wage law. Now that they no longer have a congressional majority, they intend to kill it with procedures such as the filibuster and the Byrd Rule. If all Democrats stand together, they have a slim 51-50 majority in the Senate, but under the filibuster rule, a bill needs 60 votes to pass, which would require ten Republican votes. We want to end, or at least amend, the filibuster, but that may not be possible at this time.
So long as the filibuster stands as it is, the only way to enact legislation by majority vote is by using the very limited Budget Reconciliation process. If Republicans unite against a minimum wage increase, using reconciliation to enact it will require every single Democratic senator to support it. But at least one Democrat—Sen. Manchin (D-WV)—has expressed opposition. Manchin cites the cost to small business, a traditional Republican talking point. And the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which has a Trump-appointed head, has claimed that a $15/hour minimum wage would cause employers to eliminate 1.4 million jobs. Yet economic studies have consistently shown that estimates of minimum-wage job losses have always proven to be exaggerated in the past, because increasing the buying power of low-income workers expands job growth in general. Indeed, the CBO also says that raising the minimum wage to $15/hour would lift 900,000 people out of poverty.
Contact your Senators and Representative and tell them: Fight for a $15 minimum wage!
Meet your new Senator, Alex Padilla
On Monday, Feb 8, 2021, Indivisible SF members joined more than forty Indivisible members from groups across CA to meet with Josh Esquivel, policy director for Sen. Padilla in Washington DC. The meeting was organized by our friends at Indivisible East Bay.
We discussed several topics of utmost importance to us, including the COVID relief bill (American Rescue Plan), which the Senate is currently considering passing under reconciliation rules. Among the most important provisions we’ve been advocating for in this relief package is the $15 minimum wage, which Senator Padilla supports! (But you should still call him to continue encouraging him to fight for it!)
Here are some other priorities Esquivel told us Sen. Padilla supports:
- HR51 (the DC statehood bill)
- S1, the Senate version of the “For the People Act” (HR1)
- The John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which has yet to be brought in front of the Senate
- Identifying a diverse list of candidates for the Federal Judiciary branch
- Issues of racial justice and immigrant rights, which he will work on through his seats on the Senate’s DHS, Budget, Public Work, and Rules committees
We also learned that Senator Padilla is looking forward to meeting his constituents through town halls. Stay tuned for more announcements on this front!
Read our blog post to learn more about the meeting.
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ISF General Meeting: Sunday, February 21, 1–3 PM via Zoom. Register here to join our online meeting. The meeting is open to anyone interested in promoting progressive political goals and repairing the damage done to our institutions and communities in the last four years.
ISF Federal Working Group meeting: Thursday, February 11, 7:30–9:30 PM. Register here to discuss what’s next for our Members of Congress and the incoming administration, and learn how we can make our voices heard.
ISF State and Local Working Group meeting: Friday, February 19, 7:30–8:30 PM. Register here to help us plan to propose legislation to our state legislators and support progressive initiatives on the state and local level.
Tuesday, February 16, 5:00 PM: Vaccines & Variants Virtual Town Hall with Asm Phil Ting. To help answer your questions on the variations of the coronavirus that are appearing in our communities just as California is ramping up its COVID-19 vaccine distribution, Phil Ting is holding a virtual town hall on February 16 with trusted experts. You can submit your questions in advance here, and then come back to watch it on the website here.
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Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
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