July 22, 2015
Dear SEIU Member:
I want to make sure you heard about the huge step forward that people who work at McDonald’s and other fast food stores in New York State made today.
They are on their wage to winning a pay increase to $15 per hour.
This happened because fast-food workers took a stand, went on strike, and built a Fight for $15 movement in New York. They showed us all what’s possible when ordinary people stick together and raise their voices together.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo heard them. He set up a special “wage board” to analyze wage levels for fast-food workers and recommend a new minimum pay rate for fast-food workers in the state of New York.
Today that board announced that it is recommending that New York lift the wage floor for all fast-food jobs to $15 per hour. Governor Cuomo is expected to make a final decision soon.
You can help. Tell Governor Cuomo that you support the recommendation to go to a $15 wage floor.
Here’s why this is wonderful news for all of us.
Raising pay for people who work for these companies will make it possible for them to pay for their basic needs, like groceries and rent.
Many of them are working moms and dads. They’ll use their raises to lift their families up. They’ll put money back into their neighborhoods. More pay will help them make sure their community will thrive and will boost the entire economy.
Increasing pay for fast-food workers will also put pressure on other employers that don’t pay people enough to afford their basic needs. It’s time for them to raise pay, too.
That’s why home care workers, child care workers, airport workers, adjunct professors and others are doing their part to build the $15 movement. We’re joining together to say that it’s time to create more jobs that people can actually live on.
From the beginning, members and supporters of SEIU have stood alongside fast-food workers in New York and across the country.
Your support turned their fight to boost pay to $15 — and win the freedom to form a union without retaliation — into a powerful movement that is changing our country for the better.
Tell Governor Cuomo now why you support the recommendation to go to a $15 wage floor.
I am so proud that we are standing together to build an economy that works for all of us, not just the wealthy. Let’s keep going forward together.
In Unity,
Mary Kay Henry
President
SEIU
