"Raise the Wage Nebraska" Files Minimum Wage Ballot Initiative

[TexasTowelie]

***For Immediate Release***
Monday, August 9, 2021

Contact: Magdalena Cazarez
Communications Director, Nebraska Appleseed
O: [phone] ext 119
C: [phone]
[e-mail]

“Raise the Wage Nebraska” Files Minimum Wage Ballot Initiative

Lincoln, NE — Today, a coalition of Nebraska community members, advocates, and supporters announced the launch of Raise the Wage Nebraska to raise our state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026. The initiative aims to invest in the future of Nebraskans and benefit communities across the state.

Co-sponsor of the initiative, Senator Terrell McKinney, issued the following statement:

“Poverty is at the root of many of the issues we are trying to tackle in our state; one way to begin decreasing poverty is to raise the minimum wage and change the cycle of surviving the good life to living the good life.”

Nebraska Appleseed’s Economic Justice Director, Ken Smith, issued the following statement:

“As a state that takes pride in shared prosperity and caring for our neighbors, we have a responsibility to ensure that every Nebraskan is paid a fair wage. Unfortunately, the current state minimum wage is failing too many of our friends and neighbors who are in a constant struggle to make ends meet.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Nebraska consistently ranks among the states with the highest number of people working multiple jobs. 42 percent of Nebraska families with low pay spend at least a third of their income on housing alone. The good life is out of reach for many middle and working-class Nebraskans. Gradually increasing the minimum wage is a step toward increasing opportunity for Nebraska families and achieving racial and gender pay equity across the state. When each of us has the opportunity to thrive, communities across our state thrive.”

“Raise the Wage Nebraska” includes the following coalition members:

ACLU of Nebraska

The Arc of Nebraska

Heartland Workers Center

Holland Children’s Movement

NAACP Lincoln Branch

Nebraska Appleseed

Nebraska Civic Engagement Table

Nebraska State AFL-CIO

No More Empty Pots

OutNebraska

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska

Power of People Omaha- Political Action Committee

Rabble Mill

Senator Megan Hunt

Senator Terrell McKinney

South of Downtown Community Development Organization

Together

Voices for Children in Nebraska

YWCA Lincoln

https://neappleseed.org/blog/35938