Senate Women Say: Raise The Minimum Wage!

Co-authored by:
Senator Mazie Hirono
Senator Tammy Baldwin

Last week, the Democratic women senators stood together at an amazing event where we delivered a very important message: No American woman should ever work a full-time job and still raise her children in poverty.

Yet at a time when 400 American families have more wealth than 150 million, an American single mom earning minimum wage at a full-time job takes home just $15,000 a year to support her family -- below the poverty line.

It's just not right, and we've got to do something about it.

That's why the Democratic women of the Senate have joined together to say: It is time to raise the minimum wage!

Raising the minimum wage will help millions of hard-working families -- but it will especially help 15 million American women.

• After all, American women represent two-thirds of all workers earning the minimum wage.
• American women are the main breadwinners, or joint breadwinners, in two-thirds of the families across the country.
• And American women are two-thirds of tipped workers.
• Let us be clear: Raising the minimum wage isn't a job killer; it's an economy booster. Economists predict that raising the minimum wage will add22 billion to America's GDP while creating 84,000 new jobs.

That's because when you raise the minimum wage, you help more families earn more income that they can save and spend. That's good for businesses all across the country that sell more goods and services. And when businesses sell more goods and services, they hire more workers.

It's a virtuous cycle that helps women, that helps families, and that helps our country.

We are so pleased that President Obama made raising the minimum wage a centerpiece of his State of the Union address last week -- and now it's up to Congress to heed his call.

Please stand with the Democratic women of the Senate now -- and urge Congress to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour!

It's not rocket science: If you work hard and play by the rules, you should be able to provide for your family and have an opportunity to get ahead.

Now let's make that happen.