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Workers, activists organize protest of stagnant minimum wage
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Workers, activists organize protest of stagnant minimum wage
Low-wage workers from across the city are gathering at Independence Mall to demand a higher minimum wage this afternoon. Demonstrations are being held across the country as part of a National Day of Action to Raise the Minimum Wage, which has not been increased in three years. Members of Fight for Philly, the Restaurant Opportunity Center of Philadelphia and others expect to show up in force.
In 2009 — largely due to activist efforts — the federal minimum wage for un-tipped workers was raised to $7.25 per hour; the most recent federal raise for tipped workers, such as restaurant waitstaff, was in 1991. Since then, inflation and the cost of living have risen, explains Umang Patel of Fight for Philly. For un-tipped workers, a 40-hour week of minimum wage pay only allows for a $15,000 yearly income which is $7,000 below the federal poverty line.
Tipped workers — who receive a minimum pre-tip wage of $2.83 in Pennsylvania, compared to the federal minimum of $2.13 per hour — find it difficult to live off of their income as well. Sheila Maddall, a Restaurant Opportunity Center organizer who worked in the restaurant industry through college, explains that the most difficult aspect for tipped workers was planning ahead due to their variable incomes. “I was evicted from two houses,” she explains. “There’s no steady income.” The recent economic downturn has a huge effect on tipped workers especially. “Many restaurant workers are living on food stamps,” she says.
Luckily for low-wage workers, the recent protests and complaints about the minimum wage are not falling on deaf ears. Sen.Tom Harkin (D.-Iowa) recently proposed legislation that would raise the minimum wage for un-tipped workers to $9.80 hour and the tipped wage to 70 percent of the un-tipped wage. Additionally, Rep. George Miller (D.-Calif.) has plans to introduce his own minimum-wage legislation, which would more gradually raise the minimum wage. "We're hoping to see the House and Senate legislation introduced soon," says Patel, adding that the next step after the protests is to call on elected officials for support.
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