Statement on Failure to Call Minimum Wage for a Vote

Lori J. Pelletier, President of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, made the following statement in response to the legislature’s failure to call minimum wage for a vote before sine die:

“We are extremely disappointed that the legislature did not even have the courage to bring minimum wage up for a vote this year. Minimum wage workers are trying to squeeze by on only $21,000 a year and that’s if they are lucky to be full-time. At that wage, they cannot even afford a one-bedroom apartment in Connecticut.

“Connecticut is the richest state in the nation, yet many of our state residents still live in poverty. Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour is the least we can do to begin to fix this injustice. Even going to $12.10 would have been a step forward in putting money in working people’s pockets, but the legislature failed to act.

“Maine is on pace to raise their minimum wage to $12 an hour, Rhode Island will be going up to $10.50 in January, New York City will hit $15 in a few years, Massachusetts is already at $11, and the Vermont legislature just voted to raise their minimum wage to $15.

“Connecticut has fallen woefully behind the rest of New England on raising the minimum wage. We can do better. We must do better.”

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