Ros-Lehtinen’s call for $15 is called working for constituents

The recent blog in The Hill criticizing Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s support for a path to a $15 minimum wage is just another example of corporate special interests’ influence in a false narrative that would have us believe that it’s acceptable for hard-working people in America to live in poverty and be forced to supplement their income with public assistance. This translates to taxpayers footing the bill for corporate gain. In Florida alone, low wages cost taxpayers $11.4 billion per year in public assistance.

Can you imagine raising a family on Florida’s minimum wage of $8.10 an hour? The Congresswoman’s support of a $15 minimum wage should be lauded. It is the kind of leadership we need more of in Washington, D.C. and around the country. It’s time to put party and politics aside and get back to doing the work of the people.

{mosads}The truth is, companies continue to pay executives ridiculously large salaries, widening the gap between them and their workers. The rich get richer and poor even poorer, even in the face high-worker productivity. Wealth in America is consolidating, and workers haven’t seen a significant wage increase in 30 years. This is killing the once attainable American Dream, but corporations and special interests want us to be quiet.

Critics want us to believe that raising the minimum wage will cost jobs; but as Bloomberg News reports, a “wave of new economic research is disproving the arguments about job losses and youth employment.” The evidence to justify their assertion simply isn’t there. In the states and cities that have raised the minimum wage at or around $15, there has been no adverse effect on employment and the increases have been manageable for employers. When low-wage workers get a raise, that money immediately goes back into the economy and stimulates growth. Critics also want you to believe that minimum-wage workers are teenagers working part-time. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average age of a minimum-wage worker is 35 and more than 56 percent of workers are women.

Floridians need $15 an hour just to make ends meet. A recent United Way report revealed that 45 percent – or 3.2 million – of all households in this state can’t afford basic housing, child care, food, health care and transportation. These families are not looking for handouts, only a fair shot. The most recent increase to Florida’s minimum wage was a mere five-cents, or $2 per week for a full-time worker.  

Lillie Solomon, a healthcare worker, has worked at the same Miami nursing home for more than 40 years and only makes a little more than $10 an hour. She relies on other assistance to cover her basic needs. It’s workers, like Lillie, who are now speaking out.

Opinion polls conducted in a number of states show a growing trend, even among Republicans, in favor of raising the federal minimum wage. Further, recent polls show that 51 percent of Florida voters support raising the minimum wage, which would help lift thousands of families out of poverty and put us on a path to restore the middle class. So, this is hardly a narrative trumped up by unions. Real people are feeling and suffering this economic abuse.

For far too long, too many working Floridians have not earned enough to support their families on wages that have remained stagnant for years, while corporate profits have soared. Florida needs more real bipartisan leadership from elected officials, like Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen, to raise the minimum wage. As the old saying goes, “honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work.”

Monica Russo is president of SEIU Florida. 

The views expressed by authors are their own and not the views of The Hill.