Here’s the information:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 8, 2021
CONTACT:
Jonathan Williams, UFCW Local 27, jonathanclarkewilliams@gmail.com
Coalition of Delaware WFP, Labor, and Business Groups Hosting Press Conference to Support $15 Minimum Wage
DOVER, DE (March 8, 2021) – A coalition of labor and business groups will hold a virtual press conference at noon in support of raising Delaware’s minimum wage to $15 per hour.
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What: |
Virtual Press Conference in Support of $15 Minimum Wage |
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When: |
12:00 p.m. Noon, Monday, March 8, 2021 |
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Where: |
Register in advance to receive link to Zoom video conference: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0rc-ChrjItHtDnKevn-Vg_RqlUFLBa7L4T |
The coalition supports legislation being introduced by Senator Jack Walsh that would gradually increase Delaware’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025:
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$10.50 per hour in 2022
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$11.75 per hour in 2023
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$13.25 per hour in 2024
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$15 per hour in 2025
The press conference will include speakers from each organization in the coalition, including Delaware Working Families Party, United Food & Commercial Workers Local 27, SEIU 32BJ, and Business for a Fair Minimum Wage.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, increasing the minimum wage to $15 by 2025 would raise pay for 82% of all Delaware workers currently in poverty. Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of impacted workers are not teenagers working part-time jobs. Half of the affected workforce are working full-time jobs. 86 percent of the workers are over the age of 20, and 63 percent are 25 years or older. Nearly 6 in 10 low-wage workers are women and one-quarter of workers who would benefit from raising the minimum wage are supporting children.
Black, Hispanic, and Asian workers would all disproportionately benefit from raising the minimum wage, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Despite making up only 20 percent of the state workforce, Black workers represent 28 percent of all the workers that would get a raise. Similarly, Hispanic workers make up nine percent of the state workforce, but 15 percent of all those that would get a raise.
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The Delaware Working Families Party (DE-WFP) is a multi-racial, progressive party that is working to reshape politics to build a Delaware for the many, not the few. DEWFP Recruit’s organizers and candidates who can rally their communities to fight for racial, economic, social, and environmental justice. In 2021, DEWFP is dedicated to advancing its goals of raising the minimum wage, reforming the criminal justice and policing system, and fighting for environmental justice in the First State.