A select group of graduate students enrolled at the University of South Carolina College of Social Work started this petition for the purpose of promoting social advocacy on behalf of the citizens of this state.

Members of my family are working hard every week while struggling to get by on poverty wages. Increasing the minimum wage would help thousands of workers pay their bills and feed their families. Rep. Steve Southerland should do the right thing and side with working people over big corporations.

I want the Administration and the Congress to keep their promise to make re-instatement of unemployment benefits a priority as they said they would do late last year. Once again, ordinary Americans are being forgotten in the "recovery" our lawmakers like to rave about. I, and other productive Americans, who were adversely affected by the economic downturn are quickly losing the ground we were beginning to gain with the 'hand up' of unemployment benefits. Yet, the issue has faded from the news and it appears our legislators are hoping no one will notice that they appear to have moved on. I want to bring this issue back to the forefront. I want the Administration and Congress to act on this issue with the same dispatch they have demonstrated in responding to the needs of moneyed corporations and financial institutions. Much damage has already been done to the lives or people who thought this issue would have been addressed early in January. Congress needs to vote to restore unemployment benefits -- NOW!

I’m a hairstylist and under the Labor Law Act hairstylists are allowed to be paid below minimum wage. Hairstylists should be exempt from the tipped wage ACT because we, unlike any other tipped employees, are different. We are required to have 1500 hours of school and be state licensed. In addition, we also are required to have continuing education hours in order to maintain our licenses. We supply all our own tools. Our scissors alone, cost anywhere from $100 to $500. THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE for the future of those attending beauty school and having to pay school loans of up to $15,000. PLEASE HELP US TO BE EXEMPT FROM THE TIPPED WAGE ACT UNDER THE LABOR LAW.

The working poor need help being lifted out of poverty. Shame on the GOP for not helping hard-working Americans.

This is so self evidently correct that despite numerous communications I am puzzled at why this is not being addressed. It is the law in other states, notably Louisiana! The current law requires that individuals like the head of the Roslyn, NY school district who was convicted of using his position to funnel money to a company in which he or a close friend had the entire financial beneficial interest was being paid $150,000 per year WHILE IN PRISON! The money, of course, is provided by the public who were "robbed" by him!

I am a certified science teacher, parent of a Detroit Public School graduate, and current Education Advocate which believe all Michigan children deserve a quality public education. Based on the evidence uncovered on the E.A.A. by civic and educational leaders, students attending the E.A.A. are subjected to a culture of violence, sub-par learning conditions, high teacher turnover, over sized classrooms, failing pedagogical practices, which will ultimately leave them behind on college and career readiness. This failing experiment and the expansion via HB 4369 must be stopped to ensure the future of Michigan's greatest asset; "Our Children"! #TogetherWeCan

Members of my family work two jobs and struggle on poverty wages as well as members of my community.

Since before 1992, the Junior/Senior prom has not allowed it's Juniors & Seniors to bring their underclassmen boyfriends/girlfriends, thereby making the Juniors & Seniors choose - Miss the prom, go alone, or bring someone who you are not in a relationship with. If you are dating an underclassman, then you should not have to miss out on your prom because you cannot bring your girlfriend/boyfriend. You should be allowed to bring the date of your choice. You too, should be allowed to experience all that high school has to offer, including your Prom. You should be allowed to have those cherished memories of taking the date of your choice to your Prom and getting all dressed up, having your pictures taken, and dancing away the night. Please support this petition. We need a majority of Junior & Seniors from Rock Hill High School in order to get this into discussions. Your time and assistance - and SIGNATURE is greatly appreciated.

We are all affected by mining in our residential areas. It destroys the land make it unuseable for years to come. Increased truck traffic damages our roadways and increases our expenses. With no local benefit this project has no value to the citizenry.

Conflict minerals are often mined in brutal conditions of forced labour, debt bondage and even child slavery in the Congo. Slave-mined minerals are in many of our everyday electronic items: they generate hundreds of millions of dollars and fuel the world’s deadliest ongoing conflict. Huge progress is being made to rid our household electronics of modern slavery: Intel recently announced that all its new microprocessors will be free of conflict minerals and CEO Brian Kraznich has urged other companies to follow suit[1]. While Intel and many other electronics companies are making moves to ensure they’re no longer part of the violent cycle of conflict in the Congo, Nintendo – the world’s largest manufacturer of video game consoles – lags behind. We simply don’t know what steps the electronics giant is taking to ensure its products are free of the violence, murder and modern slavery associated with these minerals and its conflict minerals policy has been dismissed by experts as a “meaningless piece of paper”[2]. It’s time for Nintendo to stop playing games and step up its efforts to help end modern slavery. SOURCES http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25636001 http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/game-over-nintendo-bends-activists%E2%80%99-pressure-conflict-minerals

I'm a Mother, a provider, survivor, protector, caretaker, educator, that needs hope in a matter very crucial to her family.