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Legislation to watch:
Sign up today to join the campaign to raise Colorado's minimum wage!
The U.S. Congress hasn't raised the $5.15 per hour federal minimum wage since 1997. Since that time, Members of Congress have given themselves eight pay raises. Because Congress hasn't done its job for working people, many states - Colorado is not yet one of them - have raised their minimum wages greater than the federal rate.
DenUM joins Colorado Progressive Coalition, Colorado AFL-CIO, 9to5 Colorado- National Association of Working Women, Service Employees International Union Local 105, Colorado ACORN, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Jobs with Justice, and many others - to raise Colorado's minimum wage on this November's statewide ballot.
It is nearly impossible to survive on a minimum wage in Colorado today. With rising health care, child care, housing, college, and gas and heating expenses, a person working full-time for the minimum wage earns under $11,000 a year. Raising the minimum wage in Colorado would help tens of thousands of our Colorado neighbors be better able to pay the bills and care for their families.
The Colorado initiative will raise the minimum wage to $6.85 per hour. This extra $1.70 per hour would mean that Colorado's lowest wage workers will have an additional up to $3,500 per year to pay the bills, support local businesses, and improve their quality of life and that of their families.
Now it's our turn to make this happen. It's time for you to join us in collecting the 100,000 plus signatures we need to safely qualify this initiative for the November ballot and give people a positive reason to show up and vote this November!
If you are interested in being involved, sign up on CPC's Volunteer form, linked here: Fill out the volunteer sign up form today.
In the News
Groups push minimum-wage increase
Backers of a proposed ballot initiative that would boost the minimum wage in Colorado from $5.15 an hour to $6.85 will begin collecting signatures next week. One of the organizers, Steve Adams, president of the Colorado AFL-CIO, said the purpose of the initiative is to "help the citizens of Colorado who need the help the most." Other "progressive" groups also are behind the measure, including Nine to Five, he said. "It's been years since they've raised the minimum wage," Adams said. "Have you ever tried living on $5.15 an hour, or even $6.85 an hour at that?" But one political consultant said the real intent of the initiative - like so many proposed this year - seems to be to turn out a certain voter base, in this case Democrats.