Congressman Dan Kildee Pushes for Minimum Wage Increase on National Minimum Wage Day

Congressman Joins Advocates who designated 10/10 Minimum Wage Day in Calling Congress to Raise the Wage to $10.10 per hour

Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) today renewed his call for Congress to pass an increase in the minimum wage today, on National Minimum Wage Day Congressman Kildee joined other organizations fighting to raise the wage to $10.10 in designating October 10, 10/10, as National Minimum Wage Day.

"In the richest country in the world, no one who works full time should have to raise their family in poverty," Congressman Kildee said. "However, a single mother with two children who works full-time and earns the minimum wage lives below the poverty line. Raising the minimum wage is a long overdue step to grow our middle class."

H.R. 1010, which was one of the first bills Congressman Kildee cosponsored last year in March, would increase the minimum wage over three years from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour, index future annual increases to inflation thereafter, and gradually increase the tipped minimum wage to 70 percent of the minimum wage. Unfortunately, over the last two years, congressional Republicans have blocked legislation raising the minimum wage eight times, even though a bipartisan majority of over 70% of Americans supports an increase. On National Minimum Wage Day, advocates are calling upon Congress to finally get a minimum wage increase enacted into law this year. The current minimum wage pays only $14,500 per year, and passing H.R. 1010 would lift between 1 million and 4.5 million Americans out of poverty. The average American worker earning the minimum wage is 35 years old, and the majority of them are women. Raising the minimum wage would help both workers and the overall economy – generating $22 billion in increased economic activity and creating 85,000 additional jobs.