We, the undersigned, join with over 250,000 members of the Kansas Action Network in supporting an increase in the Kansas minimum wage of $2.65 an hour. We believe this figure is disgracefully low and should be raised to match the national level. According to the Department of Labor, there are now at least 17,000 Kansas workers who are covered by the absurdly low Kansas minimum wage rather than by the federal minimum.

We believe a job should keep you out of poverty, not in poverty. Because the Kansas legislature has refused to raise the minimum wage since 1988, it is time for us to act locally. We call upon the City of Wichita to use its home rule authority to establish a city minimum wage matching the federal level. Ultimately, in 2009, the federal minimum wage will rise to $7.25 an hour. Currently, the figure is $5.85. In 2008 it will rise to $6.55.

Kansas has the lowest minimum wage in the nation.
We say: Keep up with the rest of the country. Raise the wage to the federal minimum wage level, and keep it there.

Wichita is the largest city in Kansas and contains 21% of the state workforce. Our example can make a difference, not only here but for Kansas as a whole.

A minimum wage of $2.65 an hour is nowhere near enough for workers to afford basic necessities for themselves and their families. This figure amounts to less than $6,000 per year for someone working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks per year. This is a stark contrast with the federal poverty line of $17,600 for a family of three.

Raising the wage is an important step in helping workers support their families.
Raising the wage is essential to healthy communities and businesses, and enduring economic growth.

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The following Wichita-based organizations support our campaign to “Raise the Wage:”

Adorers of the Blood of Christ Convent
APWU #735
Bricklayers Union Local 15
Business and Professional Women of Kansas – Wichita Chapter
Childcare Providers Together/AFSCME
Church Women United - Wichita
Communication Workers Local 6402
Heartland Quaker Meeting
Hope Street Youth Development
IAM & AW District 70
IAM & AW Local 639
IAM & AW Local 733
IAM & AW Local 774
IAM & AW Local 839
IAM & AW Local 2799
IAM & AW LL 708
IBEW Local 271
IBEW Local 1523
International Association of Fire Fighters Local 135
Kansas-Oklahoma Conference of the United Church of Christ
Labor Council on Latin American Advancement
NAACP - Wichita
National Association of Letter Carriers
National Organization for Women – Wichita Chapter
Peace & Social Justice Center of South Central Kansas
Plumbers and Pipefitters UA 441
ProKanDo
Sedgwick County Democratic Party
Sedgwick County Federation of Women’s Democratic Clubs
SEIU Local 513
Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 29
Sisters of St. Joseph
Sisters of St. Joseph - Dear Neighbor Ministries
Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace Local 2001
St. Anne Catholic Church
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton - Peace and Social Justice Committee
Teamsters Union Local 795
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 2
United Teachers of Wichita Local 725
Wichita-Hutchinson Labor Federation of Central Kansas, AFL-CIO
Wichita State University – Campus Progress
Wichita State University – College Democratic Socialists
Wichita State University – College Democrats
Wichita State University – Political Science Club

KAN coalition members:

Flint Hills Living Wage Coalition
GI Forum
Grow Kansas
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 70 and Locals 2799, 733, 774, 834
Kansas AFL-CIO
Kansas Ecumenical Ministries
Kansas Farmers Union
Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice
Manhattan Alliance for Peace and Justice
Peace and Social Justice Center of South Central Kansas
Plumbers and Pipe fitters Local 441
Salina Central Labor Union
Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia
Southeast Kansas Independent Living Resource Center
Statewide Independent Living Council of Kansas
Topeka Center for Peace and Justice
Topeka Independent Living Resource Center
Topeka Federation of Labor
Topeka LULAC
Topeka NAACP
Tri-County Labor Council of Eastern Kansas
United Methodist Church East Kansas Conference
United Steelworkers of America Local 3092

Others in support of the Raise the Wage campaign:

Business and Professional Women - Kansas
Kansas Association of Community Action Programs
League of Women Voters - Kansas
Let Justice Roll
National Organization for Women - Kansas