The Working-Poor Economy Isn’t Working for Tompkins County
That’s why it’s time to make the minimum wage a Living Wage!
Tompkins County is really two counties. Some thrive, but many face:
· Permanent low wages
· Disappearing middle-class jobs
· Skyrocketing housing costs
It’s a crisis for the thousands here not making a Living Wage. It also divides our community and we end up subsidizing poverty-pay employers with public benefits for their employees.
There is a solution -- raise the minimum wage to a Living Wage.
This will benefit low-wage working families as well as the entire County. Around the country people realize this and enact higher local minimum wages.
For workers like Milton Webb, a
worker leader at the Tompkins County Recycling Facility, the Tompkins County
Workers’ Center earlier fight to get public contractors to pay a living wage
has meant a better life. 
We’re calling on the County Legislature to set the wage at $14.34 for all workers
($14.34 wage determined by the Alternatives Federal Credit Union to meet a person’s basic needs in Tompkins County). From there we go to Albany to get it approved by the State Government.
The Tompkins County Workers’ Center is mobilizing the community to make the minimum wage a living wage for every worker in our county. This is an enormous challenge that will be met with fierce resistance by the corporate community. But it’s a fight that’s been won elsewhere, and one that needs to be fought here.
Take part in bringing real change to our community – stand with us to bring working people a Living Wage.
How YOU can help!
1) Sign our petition AND help to spread it among your friends, colleagues and community.
2) Talk the campaign with everyone you know. Also consider talking to low-wage workers in your life that you either know or come in contact with in whatever context. We need workers of all sorts to stand up in this fight, especially those that would be most directly affected by this change!
3) We'll also be needing lots of help from supporters to make this happen. Can we sign you up as a potential campaign volunteer (tabling, petitioning, mailings)?
4) Donate financially to our campaign. The Tompkins County Workers' Center is doubling our budget in order to hire more organizers to help make this campaign a reality.
5) Contact us at TCWRH@tcworkerscenter.org; 607-269-0409, or go to our website, www.TCWorkersCenter.org for more info.
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