More about 2002 FAST Issues

Advocacy related to the three FAST 2002 issues continues. Scroll down for information about progress on raising the minimum wage, farmworker advocacy activities across the state and the living wage campaign in New York City.

For Those Workers Impoverished by the Outdated Minimum Wage
Calls from supporters between June 21 and June 26 are especially important. Agreements reached during that period can be passed on Wednesday. Governor Pataki's office can be reached at 518/ 474-8390. To find the number of your senator, click here then go the the Senate Directory.

"Wage boost appears likely" headlined a page 1 article in the Albany, NY Times Union newspaper on June 10.

A bill (S. 4749) was moved out of the Senate Labor Committee in early May 2002. A letter asking Joseph Bruno, Senate Majority Leader, to lead this bill from the Rules Committee to a vote in the full Senate may make a difference. Click here for a sample letter to Senator Bruno supporting an increase in the minimum wage. It can be saved, adapted and printed. The Albany Times Union supported passage in an editorial published on June 5,2002. To learn more about the minimum wage increase passed by the NYS Assembly on April 10, 2002, click here for a press release.

To read more about the minimum wage, check sections of the AFL-CIO web site which includes Who are Minimum Wage Earners?, and descriptions of the realities behind seven mistaken beliefs about minimum wage legislation: Raising the Minimum Wage—Myths and Realities.

In 1998, legislators in the state of Washington passed Initiative 688, raising the state minimum wage in two steps with automatic adjustments for inflation every year. Washington is the first state to index its minimum wage, an achievement sponsored and supported by a coalition of church, community and labor groups. Click here for background about the campaign provided by the Washington State Labor Council .

The dignity of thousands of workers is mocked by the state's minimum wage of $5.15 an hour. No state should sanction a wage which practically guarantees a poverty existence. Even two full-time minimum wage workers in New York earn less than $22,000 before taxes. Yet nearby states that compete economically with New York have increased their minimum wage to almost $7.00 an hour. Passage of a minimum wage increase is long overdue in New York.

For farmworkers excluded from overtime pay or a day of rest
The dignity of New York's farmworkers is diminished because they are excluded from most of the state's labor laws, including the right to overtime pay and a legal day of rest each week. Despite some progress, in which farmworkers have won the right to drinking water in the fields and more humane access to toilets and sanitation, equal protection under New York's labor law is still denied.

Rural and Migrant Ministries (845/ 485-8627) in partnership with Centro Independiente Trabajadores Agricolas (CITA) and the Justice for Farmworkers Campaign is organizing advocacy opportunities.

Click here for Farmworker Advocacy information. You are also invited to call your state Senator (Senate switchboard # is 518/ 455-2800) and ask him/her to support legislation this year that will give farmworkers the full legal protections they deserve.

Click here for a 2002 Position Paper regarding the Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act (A7207) from Rural and Migrant Ministry.

For the families and workers suffering because of September 11
Families and laborers need financial assistance and work. Job losses from 9/11 may exceed 100,000. While billions of dollars have been appropriated to relieve the City's suffering, we want to be sure that these monies reach those most in need, especially low-wage and immigrant workers and their families.

In support of these same workers, you are asked to support the New York City Campaign for a Living Wage. It is very wrong that full-time workers need to rely on food pantries and food stamps to feed their families. A living wage allows workers to live with dignity and hope. Call the City's Labor-Religion Coalition at 212/ 406.2156 to learn how you can participate.

Click here for information from the New York City Living Wage Coalition. Public hearings, labor in the pulpit efforts and a march of affected workers are leading to a NY City Council vote in the spring of 2002.

The NYC Living Wage Legislation will have a significant impact on the lives of more than 70,000 low-wage service workers who perform vital pubicly subsidized services in New York City.

Sponsored by the New York State Labor-Religion Coalition, the Seventh Annual 40-HOUR FAST "For the Dignity of All" was a time of reflection, action, prayer, sacrifice and advocacy. Over 1500 people fasted during a 40 hour period on March 5, 6 and 7. Click here for materials and highlights from Fast 2002.