PETER DAVIS, pdavis at timeforaraise.org
Ralph Nader and Davis just co-wrote a letter to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi which states: “Buried underneath the coverage of the Democrats’ second midterm ‘shalackin’ in a row is a stark public sentiment that provides a path forward for your caucuses during the upcoming lame duck session. Despite the Republican wave, a minimum wage raise passed in every state in which it was on the ballot. These were not coastal blue states: the four 2014 minimum wage ballot initiatives – for Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota — passed in Republican-dominated states which all elected Republican senators alongside the initiative. If your caucuses were to uniformly and exuberantly push for a minimum wage raise in the upcoming Congressional work session, it would transition the national media narrative away from Republican momentum in the never-ending horse race and towards whether the new Congressional leadership will be responsive to the public sentiment and needs of American workers.” See the full letter. Davis is a campaign activist for Time for a Raise campaign, a project of Ralph Nader’s Center for the Study of Responsive Law.
In August, Nader wrote the piece “Democrats Are Doomed (Unless They Make the Minimum Wage the #1 November Election Issue).”
Nader’s latest book is Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State. Earlier this year, Nader’s office hosted a conference on left-right alliance. See video of the conference here.
HOLLY SKLAR, FRANK KNAPP, Jr., via Bob Keener, bob at businessforafairminimumwage.org
Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said today: “These minimum wage wins will send a clear message: Americans across the political spectrum want to raise the minimum wage. There is growing public awareness about the business benefits of increasing minimum wage such as boosting consumer demand, reducing worker turnover and increasing productivity. Nationally, 61 percent of small business owners want to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 and adjust it for the cost of living in future years. It’s time for Congress to follow the public’s lead and vote to give America a raise.”
Knapp, president and CEO of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than 5,000 businesses, said: “This election shows that increasing the minimum wage is not a Red State versus Blue State issue. It’s a common sense, good business issue. Raising the minimum wage improves consumer demand, which is how Main Street businesses grow. We look forward to building on this momentum to gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10.”
