Press conference will highlight struggles of minimum wage families as Wells updates his personal experience before Council votes on minimum wage legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – At a press conference outside the Wilson Building on Dec. 17, low-wage workers will join minimum wage coalition members and Councilman Tommy Wells as he recounts his struggles while living on a minimum salary. Wells joins a growing list of D.C. residents calling for passage of the Working Families Ballot Initiative to raise the minimum wage to $12.50 an hour by 2017.
Thousands of District residents work every day at jobs that do not allow them to provide for their families. The Economic Policy Institute estimates there are roughly 106,000 workers in the District of Columbia, including those who live in other jurisdictions who earn less than $12.50 per hour; that’s roughly 15 percent of all D.C. workers.
Wells’ is living on $98.28 per week during his challenge. That covers food and transportation costs for thousands of District residents who are paid the minimum wage. That amounts to 35.5 percent of what a 40-hour per week minimum wage paycheck would be after taxes. Thousands of working District families are forced to live on government subsidies as a result of these low wages.
What: Minimum Wage press conference.
Where and When: 9:15 a.m. , Tuesday, Dec. 17, 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW on the Wilson Building steps.
Who: Low-wage workers, Councilman Wells, Working Families, OurDC, Community supporters and Coalition to Raise the Wage members.