Congress: Minimum Wage Military Families U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, notorious for yelling “You lie!” during the 2009 State of the Union is at it again. This time he’s pressuring the Minimum Wage for Military Families President to backtrack on his promise to military families and workers, made in his 2014 State of the Union speech, “that if you serve our troops’ meals or wash their dishes, you shouldn’t have to live in poverty.” Under the Administration’s new rules, the compensation package of a military fast food worker would rise from $7.25 an hour to nearly $14.00 an hour which is close to amount that fast food workers around the nation have been striking to win as part of the Fight for 15 and Good Jobs Nation campaigns. “The average enlisted member with less than four years of experience makes about $21,000 a year,” noted The American Prospect. To add insult to injury, many of the jobs available to family members are low-paid service sector jobs on military exchanges – which means soldiers and their families are often struggling to rise above poverty. In fact, according to a CNN analysis of newly released data, “Food stamp redemption at military grocers has been rising steadily…Nearly $104 million worth of food stamps was redeemed at military commissaries.” As U.S. Rep. John Conyers wrote in The Huffington Post, “When the government does business with poverty-wage employers, taxpayers end up effectively subsidizing these firms low standards as workers are forced to resort to means-tested public benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, and Earned Income Tax Credits.” By threatening withdrawal from military bases over good jobs, profitable military fast food contractors are dishonoring our troops and their families. “The specter of mass layoffs being raised is an illusion,” said George Faraday, policy director for Good Jobs Nation told The Fiscal Times. “If they care about the welfare of military spouses they should care about whether military spouses are making a living wage.” Contact Congressman Joe Wilson office 803-939-0041 to say that you want military men and women to have an increase in their wages. #JoeMadison #SiriusXM #UrbanView #RepresentativeJoeWilson SiriusXM Urban View
Posted on: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 16:03:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015