Eleanor Grant writes:
Peace and Justice Friends –
Please join in the May 1 Twitter / E-mail campaign to Premier Kathleen Wynne, in time for the Ontario Budget on May 2. Tell her Ontario needs a minimum wage of $14 now!
Initiated by Workers’ Action Centre in Toronto.
Let’s flood the Premier’s computer! Simple steps in forwarded msg below.
More articles on minimum wage:
“Melt the Freeze! Campaign to Raise Ontario’s Minimum Wage” by Jean Kenyon
“Behind the Numbers: Boost the Minimum Wage, Boost the Economy, from the bottom up” by Armine Yalnizyan
Trish Hennessy “What if the minimum wage were a living wage?”
Armine Yalnizyan: Welcome to the wageless recovery!
Eleanor
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: “Special Diet” <forspecialdiet@gmail.com>
Date: Apr 29, 2013 5:49 PM
Subject: action alert – may day email and twitter campaign!This International Workers Day – May 1st – take a moment to tweet or email Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, demanding a raise in the minimum wage.
$14.00 Now!
The 2013 Ontario budget will be announced this Thursday. We need your support to help us raise the minimum wage!
Please forward this call-out to your networks, friends and family. We only have a few days, and every message counts!
Callout adapted from Workers Action Centre, workersactioncentre.org:
Take action on Mayday to send a message to Premier Kathleen Wynne before the May 2 budget. Ontario needs a minimum wage that lifts workers out of poverty now; no delays, no commission to study minimum wage.
- Send a tweet to @Kathleen Wynne, #14now
- E-mail Kathleen Wynne at premier@ontario.ca – or write a letter from your organization supporting our call for an immediate increase and no panel! (Sample E-mail)
- Submit a letter to your local paper on why your community needs a raise now
- Like the Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage on Facebook to get regular updates
Why we need a minimum wage increase now!
In March, communities across Ontario came together to launch a campaign for a minimum wage increase. Creative actions took place in 15 different cities, calling for a raise in the minimum wage to $14. The message was clear, we need an increase now!
As we get ready for the 2013 budget to be announced on May 2, we are calling on the government to raise the minimum wage to $14 and not to delay with an advisory panel or commission.
We need a raise in the minimum wage to $14 an hour now because:
- A strong minimum wage will help workers, our communities and boost our economy.
- Working full-time should raise us above the poverty line. Working 35 hours a week, we need $14 an hour to get 10% above the poverty line (LIM) in 2013.
- The minimum wage has been frozen for 3 years while rent, food and transit costs have soared! It’s time to melt the freeze, and then index the minimum wage to the cost of living each year.
Don’t delay with an advisory panel
If the Minister of Labour creates an advisory panel to study the minimum wage:
- It will be a deliberate strategy to have a minimum wage rate set below the poverty line while trying to avoid responsibility for that decision.
- It will be a way to distance the government from a decision to keep minimum wage workers in poverty.
- It will be a waste of time and taxpayer’s money.
We have seen other examples of the Ontario government under Dalton McGuinty establishing panels and commissions to make recommendations that were inadequate, or that the government didn’t follow, such as the long-term affordable housing strategy and Social Assistance Review Commission.
Ontario workers don’t need a panel or commission to study the minimum wage. We need an increase now to bring us out of poverty!
For more information, visit: workersactioncentre.org
Take action!
The Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage is coordinated by ACORN, Freedom 90, Mennonite New Life Centre, OCAP, Ontario Campaign 2000, Parkdale Community Legal Services, Put Food in the Budget, Social Planning Toronto, Toronto and York Region Labour Council and the Workers’ Action Centre.
For additional info and local action visit povertymakesussick.wordpress.com PMUS is a proud member of the Raise the Rates campaign, and actively participates in the #14now Raise the Minimum Wage campaign
Eleanor Grant writes a semi-regular e-mail newsletter on social justice issues. You can contact Eleanor at eleanor7000@gmail.com