Make 2015 the Year of the $15 Minimum Wage

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Ty Moore, 15 Now National Organizer
Article reposted from 15now.org

The confidence of workers is growing nationwide. With bold leadership, 2015 could be the year of $15/hour, the year when low-wage workers begin to turn the tide against corporate greed and widening wealth inequality.

But to turn our momentum into a mass movement, it’s going to take everyone pitching in, with both time and financial support. Can you donate $15 today to win $15 in 2015?

It was just one year ago, in January 2014, that 15 Now held its founding meeting in Seattle. Six months later Seattle became the first major city to pass a $15/hour minimum wage, with 15 Now widely recognized as the leading force behind the victory.

Seattle transformed the national debate over the minimum wage. From a radical slogan of fast food strikers, suddenly the demand for $15 became a mainstream idea.

San Francisco moved rapidly and passed an even stronger $15/hour minimum wage in November. Nearly half of Chicago’s 50-strong City Council joined the call for $15, prompting “Mayor 1%” Rahm Emanuel to pass $13/hour, cutting across a movement for more. In Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, Philadelphia, and other major cities, debates are raging over major hikes to the minimum wage.

15 Now is active in over 20 cities across the country and, with your financial help, we are well positioned to score fresh victories.

Airport workers protest wages at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Friday, Dec. 5, 2014.  (Photo: Pioneer Press / Jean Pieri)
Airport workers protest wages at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 (Photo: Pioneer Press / Jean Pieri)
  • In Oregon, 15 Now’s campaign for a statewide $15/hour minimum wage has won the support of 50 labor and community organizations, and 11 state legislators have co-sponsored a bill. 15 Now Portland, alongside Jobs with Justice, is leading a campaign for $15 for city contract workers that appears set to win a majority on the city council.
  • Workers at the Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) Airport formed a 15 Now chapter and gathered over 2,000 signatures from their co-workers for a petition demanding $15. When Delta fired a leading 15 Now organizer, over 200 workers and supporters shut down the road into MSP. With growing media attention and political support, the movement for “$15 and a Union” at MSP is stronger than ever.
  • In Philadelphia, following months of demonstrations and growing media attention, 15 Now convinced the city council to hold a formal hearing this February to raise the city minimum wage to $15/hour. 15 Now plans to mobilize hundreds of workers, and is preparing by organizing a Low Wage Workers Summit in collaboration with SEIU’s fast food campaign.
  • In Boston’s 10th Suffolk District, 15 Now put a resolution on the November 2014 ballot for $15/hour minimum wage which won 63% of the vote.

These are just a few of the most exciting developments. Much more is planned. The main thing holding us back is our limited resources. We rely on small-scale donations and monthly sustainers to keep 15 Now moving forward.

Please do your part. Become a monthly sustainer of 15 Now or donate what you can today.

Thanks and solidarity,
Ty Moore
National Organizer for 15 Now

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