To: Rep. Tom Reed (NY-23) and The United States House of Representatives
Rep Reed Why Won't You Support Raising Minimum Wage?
Rep. Reed voted against raising the Federal Minimum wage, and voted against working families. In 2013 the Federal Minimum Wage would be $10.74 per hour if it had been adjusted for inflation for the past 40 years. Why don't minimum wage workers deserve to have their purchasing power keep pace with increases in food and gas prices?
Why is this important?
I am a small restaurant owner with 40 employees and I pay a minimum of $10.10 per hour to my employees. One staff member came to us after working for McDonald's for 10 years. She started in 1999 at $5.50 per hour and worked long hours just to get by. After 10 years she had to work overtime just to bring home $350 a week, and had no life and was exhausted every day. Now that she is making $12 per hour, she doesn't have to work overtime and feels that her work is valued when she gets a decent raise. She is able to pay her bills and is not worried every week about how she is going to make it.
Raising the minimum wage means that people have more money to spend, and they will spend it at stores in the 23rd District on food, gas, books, music, electronics, entertainment and services. When I pay my employees more money, they also spend it in my restaurant. Keeping wages low does not make my business run better when my staff are stressed and worried about not being able to pay their bills. Increasing wages does not make me fire people, it provides me with a stable and satisfied workforce and low turnover.
Increasing the minimum wage both helps workers and reduces the need for supplemental government assistance programs like food stamps -- goals that people favoring smaller government should support.
In fact thousands of families in the poorest counties in the 23rd district would be lifted out of poverty with a minimum wage increase to $10.10.
Raising the minimum wage means that people have more money to spend, and they will spend it at stores in the 23rd District on food, gas, books, music, electronics, entertainment and services. When I pay my employees more money, they also spend it in my restaurant. Keeping wages low does not make my business run better when my staff are stressed and worried about not being able to pay their bills. Increasing wages does not make me fire people, it provides me with a stable and satisfied workforce and low turnover.
Increasing the minimum wage both helps workers and reduces the need for supplemental government assistance programs like food stamps -- goals that people favoring smaller government should support.
In fact thousands of families in the poorest counties in the 23rd district would be lifted out of poverty with a minimum wage increase to $10.10.