Community Members to Rep. Murphy: Hard Working Americans Should Not Be Living in Poverty
All across the nation, a broad coalition of groups and activists took to the streets on July 24, the third anniversary of the last increase in the minimum wage. The minimum wage was last increased on July 24, 2009, a day that Mike Wurdasky of Mt. Lebanon remembers well.
“I was making the minimum wage working in a fast food restaurant in 2009. The day they voted to raise the minimum wage my co-workers and I were thrilled. Even a meager raise made a big difference when you are making the minimum wage,” said Wurdasky. “A lot of my co-workers could not get by. They went home to empty refrigerators and had to beg the manager to take home leftovers and scraps.”
Community members filed into Rep. Tim Murphy’s staff to present over 200 petitions in favor of supporting the minimum wage.
“Politicians in Congress get an automatic raise every year if they do nothing. But we need to depend on Congress agreeing each year to make the minimum wage keep up with the cost of living. It’s time to fix that problem,” said Linda Santiguido. “Rep. Tim Murphy represents thousands of minimum wage workers. It’s time he stands with the 99% and votes to raise the minimum wage to $10 per hour.”
John Dougherty of Greensburg feels that outsourcing is responsible for eliminating many of the good-paying jobs that allowed him to raise his family. “As a Marine, I fought to preserve the American Dream. I am saddened to see it chipped away at by outsourcing and I am outraged by our Congress that only serves the super wealthy,” said Dougherty.
Recently Rep. Murphy voted against considering The Bring Our Jobs Home Act to end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas.
Small business owner Alfred Ferraro spoke out in support of raising the minimum wage to strengthen the economy. “People who work for a living spend their money in our businesses, putting it right back into our economy. It should be a no-brainer to pay them a fair wage for their hard work,” said Ferraro.
Community members also presented Rep. Murphy’s staff with a new report by the National Unemployment Law Project. The report titled “Big Business, Corporate Profits, and the Minimum Wage” finds most low-wage workers are employed by large, highly profitable corporations and not small businesses.
Over the past five years, the top 50 low-wage employers in the U.S. returned a stunning $174 billion to shareholders through dividends and share buy-backs.
The Greensburg minimum wage event was part of a Raise The Wage nationwide day of action. Other Pittsburgh-area events included a march by One Pittsburgh from Market Square to the City County Building to urge the Pittsburgh City Council to pass a resolution to raise the minimum wage.
Joyce
10:44 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
People can not survive on the minumum wage. They usually have to work two minumum wage jobs full time in order to survive. This takes a toll on their health, which then causes medical costs to rise, which then causes abscence at work which causes loss of profit for the employers. It's a vicious cycle and of course poverty has always been a vicious cycle. I realize that raising the minumum wage may cause some businesses to look at their hiring but in the long run it will help. Most places now start you out at more than the minumum although with the huge unemployement figures they are cutting back on doing that. Sheetz used to start you out at I believe twelve dollars an hour, the most recent sign I saw was only offering 8.65. We need to bring industry and all jobs back to this country. We have seen what has happened with outsourcing, how many times have you given up in frustration when trying to discuss a problem with a product or service with someone who can not comprehend because of cultural differences and the lack of understanding each others language that the issue does not get resolved? It's a shame that the government even has to do this, employers should want to give people a living wage and see them happy in the workplace. It's more than time that everyone starts to think aboout each other , not just stock holders and investment brokers.
Denise McConnell
3:20 pm on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Sad to say, Rep. Murphy seems to be among those who have only one goal this election season and will not do anything positive for the country because it doesn't adhere to their goal. This is such a pathetic situation all around. But, if there are any lessons to be learned they must include that we pay attention to the content of the character of our leaders. We should demand they do what is the best for the country, even if it doesn't meet their party's motives and, since all of the politicians are rich and purchased by corporations, we have to find some way to have a voice and choose those who can relate, who want to understand and relate to the people they are elected to serve.
JS
5:55 pm on Friday, August 3, 2012
Great response Denise. If only more people would really look at what their representatives are doing in congress instead of automatically voting for the encumbent, we'd have someone in our district who actually represents ALL of the constiuents rather than just the ones who are doing well in this down economy. We need to end the rubber stamp of our Republican representatives and senator and send the message that they need to actually represent the majority of the people rather than the ones who pay for their campaigns. Murphy is guilty of doing all he can to defeat Obama by following the lead of his party, rather than doing all he can to improve the economy of the country.