Workers Rally for Minimum Wage Increase & Paid Sick Days
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)DC low-wage workers and supporters on Friday rallied in Freedom Plaza to call on
the DC Council to pass a comprehensive bill that will raise the minimum wage to
$12.50 an hour, raise the tipped minimum wage, and expand DC’s paid sick days
law to cover all workers. They also delivered testimony they had not been able
to at the 11-hour hearing on October 28th by the Council’s Committee on
Business, Consumer, and Regulatory Affairs on legislation to reform the minimum
wage and paid sick days laws in DC. "For the past week, I’ve had a really sore
throat," testified Kathryn Seidewitz. "I had to work through all of this...I
can’t (afford to) miss even a day of work to recover or go to the
doctor...Healthy, well-paid workers means better workers and better businesses."
Respect DC Organizer Mike Wilson said that “In an increasingly expensive city,
people are being forced out of their communities every day as wages remain the
same but the cost of living skyrockets. It's time to make sure that if you work
in DC, you can afford to live here.” Supporters can click
here to tell the Council that “DC Deserves a Raise.” While there was
broad agreement – even from corporate interests -- at the recent hearing that
the minimum wage needs to increase and that tipped restaurant workers should
have access to paid sick days, “corporate lobby groups are trying to slow down
the process and make sure DC's workers get as little as possible,” Wilson
warned. photo courtesy @DCJwJ