Rep. Ellison Statement on Increase in Minnesota's State Minimum Wage

Statement

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement today after Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed a bill into law increasing the state minimum wage to $9.50 in 2016.

"Minnesota is once again leading the nation. Increasing the state minimum wage and tying the increase to inflation means hardworking Minnesotans will be better able to catch up and keep up. The bill passed by the state legislature and signed by Governor Dayton today will help 357,000 Minnesotans put a little extra cash in their pockets to spend in their local communities or to save for their future, improving their lives and our economy statewide. This victory would not have been possible without a fierce sense of urgency from legislators, community groups, faith and labor leaders and countless Minnesotans who organized and rallied around working families in our state.

"Too many Americans around the country are working full time and living in poverty. The great divide between the haves and the have-nots has been growing in part because our federal minimum wage is stuck in the past. The current federal minimum wage, $7.25 per hour, is more than two dollars lower than it was in 1968 after adjusting for inflation.

"It's time for Congress to follow Minnesota's lead. We must raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, including the tipped minimum wage which is now only $2.13."

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