Offering of Letters to Raise the Minimum Wage
Sample Letter

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton/Senator Charles Schumer
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator:

As a person of faith, I am deeply concerned about the increasing economic obstacles the working poor face in our country. I write to urge you to support the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2003 (S. 20). This would raise the minimum wage from its current level of $5.15 an hour to $5.90 sixty days after enactment and then raise it to $6.65 one year thereafter.

We can see that minimum wage workers have already lost all of their gains since 1997, the last time the minimum wage was increased. Poverty-level wages do not serve those struggling to make the difficult journey from welfare to work.

Nearly nine million workers would directly benefit from a hike in the minimum wage. 35% of those workers are the sole family wage earner and 61% of those are women.

Hard-working families will continue to fall below the poverty line even with this additional $3,000 in income per year, but it is a step in the right direction toward alleviating poverty for working families. The Earned Income Tax credit and food stamps are not substitutes for increases in minimum wage, but complements.

Again, I urge you to support the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2003 (S. 20)

Sincerely,
[Your Name]