Issue Position: A Minimum Wage That's a Living Wage

Issue Position

People who work full time should be able to meet their family's basic needs, but many can not. When employers are permitted to pay wages that are too low to live on, taxpayers must fill the gap with food support, housing support, health insurance support, and support for other needs. This subsidizes employers and undermines the dignity of the worker.

I'm proud to have voted to raise Minnesota's minimum wage and to have it apply equally to tipped employees, but we must continue to raise the minimum wage until all full-time work in Minnesota pays a living wage. In 2018, a typical family of three must earn over $17 per hour (two parents working 60 hours per week) to provide for the bare necessities of life. We must also strengthen other workplace rights, such as earned sick time and paid family leave. These benefits help everyone --because no one wants a sick waiter coughing on their food. So let's allow everyone the dignity and security to get better at home or have the time to get needed healthcare, then return to work healthy and productive.

Unions created the middle class by organizing for better wages and working conditions, but union membership has eroded. I support and defend the right to organize and bargain collectively, because this is one of the best tools we have to raise work standards and give Minnesotans a chance at a better future.

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