Philly Low Wage Workers Stage May Day Rally to Demand $15 Minimum Wage Ballot Question

Media Release: 15 Now Philly

State Senator Daylin Leach and workers are set to rally for $15/hour minimum wage law. Energy for the rally has been building as Daylin Leach announces new legislation calling for a $15/hour minimum wage and as workers push for a home rule charter amendment on the November ballot. Here’s the details on tomorrow’s rally.

WHEN: May 1st, 2015 2pm
WHERE: MacDonald’s at 40th & Walnut in West Philly
WHO: State Senator Daylin Leach, 15 Now Philly, SEIU 32BJ, Fight for 15 fast food workers, POWER, 15 Now Temple, May Day USA Coalition (broad group of labor unions), Jobs with Justice, Black Lives Matter, Coalition for REAL Justice
VISUALS: Dozens workers with red “Raise the Minimum Wage Signs,” huge “Raise the Minimum Wage” banner in front of MacDonald’s, huge puppets, clergy and workers speaking out, march from 40th & Walnut McDonald’s to Clark Park in West Philly

EVENT DETAILS:

On May 1st, fast food and other low wage workers will rally announce their intention to place a home rule charter amendment question on the ballot in November that presents an opportunity for the residents of Philadelphia to vote in support of a $15 minimum wage.

Mayoral polls done by municipal union, AFSCME have already indicated support for a $15 minimum wage in Philly to be as high as 87% among likely voters.

A popular referendum on $15 an hour in November will put pressure on the state legislators to raise the minimum wage across the state to $15 an hour, to lift the undemocratic ban on municipal wage increases, and set the stage for city council to institute bold measures to challenge the ban if no action is taken on a statewide level.

Additionally, State Senator Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery/Delaware) yesterday announced legislation to raise the state minimum wage immediately to $15 per hour. The bill would also index the minimum wage to inflation and eliminate the tipped minimum wage. He and 15 Now are seeking co-sponsors in the PA Assembly and Senate for the $15 bill. He is seeking co-sponsors for the bill.

Here’s Daylin Leach’s statement on his new proposal:

An economy that forces full-time workers to toil in poverty is clearly in need of repair. While corporations shower their executives with extravagant bonuses, lavish benefits and golden parachutes, they force their own employees to supplement meager wages with government assistance programs, all at the taxpayers’ expense. It’s time for employers to pay their fair share and for workers to get a fair shake.

15 Now member Sarah Giskin said, “15 Now PA is heartened to see that Pennsylvania state representatives are turning the urgent demand for a $15/hour into action. 15 Now chapters across the state will be pushing hard for Senator Leach’s bill. We are prepared, however, to fight for the removal of the undemocratic ban on Philadelphia raising its own minimum wage if the legislature does not pass a statewide $15/hour bill. We will do whatever it takes to end poverty in our city, starting with putting a $15 minimum wage referendum on the November ballot in Philadelphia.”

In 2015, the #fightfor15 and #blacklivesmatter movements have set a tone of mass struggle to achieve dramatically improved working and living conditions, especially for people of color who are over-represented in low wage work. Philadelphia is the poorest major city in the country, and 28% of residents live under the federal poverty line.

On International Workers’ Day, Philadelphia workers will uphold the holiday’s bold history of struggle, by demanding a minimum wage of $15 an hour in the city of Philadelphia and across the state of Pennsylvania. May Day is rooted in the struggle for the 8 hour day, when hundreds of thousands of workers across the nation staged a general strike to win a shorter work day and higher wages.