QUOTE
Dear Friend,
I just signed Governor Rendell's petition calling upon the
Pennsylvania State Legislature to increase the
Commonwealth's minimum wage.
With your help, we can make real change. Please join
me by signing this petition:
http://rendell.bluestatedigital.com/page/p...n/minwage/kvsfy
Thanks!
I just signed Governor Rendell's petition calling upon the
Pennsylvania State Legislature to increase the
Commonwealth's minimum wage.
With your help, we can make real change. Please join
me by signing this petition:
http://rendell.bluestatedigital.com/page/p...n/minwage/kvsfy
Thanks!
And Rendell's original email ....
QUOTE
Dear Friend,
[Image: "Sign"]
Pennsylvanians are renowned for their strong work ethic and dedication to their families and communities. It's time we recognize that hard work with decent wages that will enable working people to support themselves and their families. That's why I've called on the Republican-controlled legislature to raise Pennsylvania's minimum wage to $7.15 an hour.
But the legislature has not acted. Please join me and tell the legislature that it's time to raise Pennsylvania's minimum wage. Together, we must show the overwhelming support that exists all across the Commonwealth for increasing our minimum wage.
Click here to sign the petition now
We can do better. Right now, a Pennsylvanian working full time earning the minimum wage -- 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year -- would still fall more than $2,000 below the poverty line for a family of two. No one in Pennsylvania - or anywhere in America -- who works full-time should earn less than the poverty level. And it's not just teenage students - most of the 250,000 Pennsylvanians earning minimum wage are parents raising children or senior citizens.
It's been eight years since Congress raised the federal minimum wage. In that time, business profits and worker productivity have increased, the costs of food, clothing and basic necessities have gone up and the cost of fuel has gone through the roof. Too many working families simply cannot afford to make ends meet.
Although a national increase is long overdue, Republicans in Washington have not made it a priority. In Pennsylvania, I have made fighting for working families job number one. Please join me in that fight by signing the petition now. Then send it to your friends and family members and ask them to sign it.
Click here to sign the petition now
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have state minimum wages that are higher than the federal minimum wage. By January 2007, the minimum wage in New York and New Jersey will rise to $7.15. In Delaware, the minimum wage is already $6.15 per hour. Our neighbors - who compete with us for jobs and residents - are doing a better job on behalf of their low-income hard-working citizens.
Critics say raising the minimum wage will hurt our economy. That's simply not true. The Fiscal Policy Institute looked at states with a higher minimum wage than the federal level and states with the federal minimum wage, like Pennsylvania. They found that the number of small businesses grew nearly twice as quickly in states with a higher minimum wage. Employment growth was nearly 50% higher. And states with a higher minimum wage also had faster growth in business payrolls.
Raising the minimum wage is good for Pennsylvania's economy and right for Pennsylvania's working families. Now is the time to do it. Please help by signing this petition. Working together, we will make a higher minimum wage a reality in Pennsylvania.
Click here to sign the petition now
Thank you,
Gov. Ed Rendell
Paid for and authorized by Rendell for Governor.
Rendell for Governor
PO Box 58635
Philadelphia, PA 19102
[Image: "Sign"]
Pennsylvanians are renowned for their strong work ethic and dedication to their families and communities. It's time we recognize that hard work with decent wages that will enable working people to support themselves and their families. That's why I've called on the Republican-controlled legislature to raise Pennsylvania's minimum wage to $7.15 an hour.
But the legislature has not acted. Please join me and tell the legislature that it's time to raise Pennsylvania's minimum wage. Together, we must show the overwhelming support that exists all across the Commonwealth for increasing our minimum wage.
Click here to sign the petition now
We can do better. Right now, a Pennsylvanian working full time earning the minimum wage -- 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year -- would still fall more than $2,000 below the poverty line for a family of two. No one in Pennsylvania - or anywhere in America -- who works full-time should earn less than the poverty level. And it's not just teenage students - most of the 250,000 Pennsylvanians earning minimum wage are parents raising children or senior citizens.
It's been eight years since Congress raised the federal minimum wage. In that time, business profits and worker productivity have increased, the costs of food, clothing and basic necessities have gone up and the cost of fuel has gone through the roof. Too many working families simply cannot afford to make ends meet.
Although a national increase is long overdue, Republicans in Washington have not made it a priority. In Pennsylvania, I have made fighting for working families job number one. Please join me in that fight by signing the petition now. Then send it to your friends and family members and ask them to sign it.
Click here to sign the petition now
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have state minimum wages that are higher than the federal minimum wage. By January 2007, the minimum wage in New York and New Jersey will rise to $7.15. In Delaware, the minimum wage is already $6.15 per hour. Our neighbors - who compete with us for jobs and residents - are doing a better job on behalf of their low-income hard-working citizens.
Critics say raising the minimum wage will hurt our economy. That's simply not true. The Fiscal Policy Institute looked at states with a higher minimum wage than the federal level and states with the federal minimum wage, like Pennsylvania. They found that the number of small businesses grew nearly twice as quickly in states with a higher minimum wage. Employment growth was nearly 50% higher. And states with a higher minimum wage also had faster growth in business payrolls.
Raising the minimum wage is good for Pennsylvania's economy and right for Pennsylvania's working families. Now is the time to do it. Please help by signing this petition. Working together, we will make a higher minimum wage a reality in Pennsylvania.
Click here to sign the petition now
Thank you,
Gov. Ed Rendell
Paid for and authorized by Rendell for Governor.
Rendell for Governor
PO Box 58635
Philadelphia, PA 19102