LANDSLIDE
FOR MINIMUM WAGE: WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT'S NEXT,
ANALYZED IN NOV. 9 TELECONFERENCE
For
Immediate Release: November 8, 2006
Contact: Betsy Leondar-Wright, Let Justice Roll
781-704-4039 (cell), betsy@classmatters.org
Minimum
wage hikes won in every state they were on the
ballot, winning by a resounding 76 percent in
Missouri, 73 percent in Montana, 69 percent in
Nevada, 66 percent in Arizona, 56 percent in Ohio
and 53 percent in Colorado (latest totals).
Americans
across the nation voted for a change in priorities,
insisting on the fundamental fairness value of
Let Justice's Roll message: A job should keep
you out of poverty, not keep you in it.
In
Thursday’s telephone press conference, state
minimum wage ballot organizers (AZ, CO, MO, MT
and OH), leaders of the national Let Justice Roll
campaign, a low-wage worker, and two business
leaders will analyze this historic victory, discuss
plans to raise federal and state minimum wages,
and answer reporters' questions.
-
What was behind each state's minimum wage victory?
-
How did the new "values vote" impact
the election? How effective were faith-based
efforts to frame poverty wages as a moral issue?
-
How did voters respond to the competing business
voices for and against raising the minimum wage?
-
What's next for campaigns to raise the minimum
wage in more states and at the federal level?
WHEN:
THURSDAY, NOV. 9, at 12 noon Eastern
HOW:
Journalists call 1-800-362-0571 and say
passcode "minimum."
Journalists can ask questions of the speakers
by pressing *1 (star 1) on your phone.
WHO:
REV. PAUL SHERRY, national coordinator, Let Justice
Roll campaign and co-author, "A Just Minimum
Wage: Good for Workers, Business and Our Future"
MONTANA: Doug Mitchell, campaign manager, Raise
Montana, Helena
MISSOURI: Rev. Audrey Hollis, lead organizer,
Let Justice Roll Missouri,
St. Louis
SMALL-BUSINESS OWNER: Lew Prince, co-owner, Vintage
Vinyl, St. Louis; featured on PBS Now show on
minimum wage
OHIO: Rev. Tim Ahrens, senior pastor, First Congregational
Church UCC, Columbus
LOW-WAGE WORKER: Mack McCowan, a worker affected
by the Ohio results, Cleveland
VENTURE CAPITALIST: Adnan Durrani, president of
Condor Ventures, Stamford, CT; venture partner,
Blue Chip Venture Capital, Cincinnati
COLORADO: Terri McMaster, leader in Let Justice
Roll Colorado, and director, Lutheran Advocacy
Ministry, Denver
ARIZONA: Rev. Trina Zelle, lead organizer, Let
Justice Roll Arizona, Tempe
REV. BOB EDGAR, general secretary, National Council
of Churches, former Congressman, and author, "Middle
Church: Reclaiming the Moral Values of the Faithful
Majority from the Religious Right"
Mr.
Prince and Mr. Durrani are inaugural signatories
to the Business Owners and Executives for a Higher
Minimum Wage statement (available at http://www.letjusticeroll.org/pressroom/ljrpressrelease-10-31.html.)
Let
Justice Roll is a fast-growing national nonpartisan
partnership of more than 80 organizations working
for a higher minimum wage at the state and federal
level. For more information about the Let Justice
Roll campaign, visit http://www.letjusticeroll.org.
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