Child Advocacy
Alert!
Urge NH Senate to approve $1 increase in state's minimum wage
Update: The NH
Senate defeated HB 665 on a 15-9 vote
May 20, 2005
What: Full NH Senate vote on House
Bill 665, which would increase New Hampshire's minimum wage from
$5.15 to $6.15.
When: May 26.
Action requested:
1. Especially if you live or work in the district of one of the targeted
state Senators (below), please call (preferred) or write your
state Senator by Wednesday, May 25, urging him or her
to:
(a) vote against the Senate Banks and Insurance Committee recommendation
of Inexpedient to Legislate, then
(b) vote for a motion of Ought To Pass.
You can find contact information for your Senator and send an e-mail
through our Legislative Action Center.
2. Ask the welfare administrator in your community to contact your state
Senator and talk about the numbers of low-wage working families who
need local assistance. HB 655 is supported by the NH Local Welfare Administrators
Assn.
3. As soon as possible, write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper
urging the state Senate to pass the minimum wage increase. You can also
send a letter through our Legislative Action Center.
Click on News Media line.
What I need to know:
NH's minimum wage ($5.15) is the lowest in New England and hasn't been
increased since 1997.
HB 665 would increase the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $5.65
on Sept. 1 and to $6.15 on Sept. 1, 2006. It was passed by the House,
197-147. This week, the Senate Banks and Insurance Committee voted 4-2
to recommend that the bill be Inexpedient To Legislate (killed). All
the Republicans on the committee voted to kill HB 655; the two Democrats
voted not to kill it.
A full Senate vote of Inexpedient to Legislate would mean New Hampshire's
minimum wage will not be increased for two more years.
Messages/talking points:
The living standard of thousands of NH families with children are
held down by the low minimum wage.
Parents make up about 40% of NH full-time workers and 53% of part-time
workers who earn at or near the minimum wage, according to a recent
study by UNH Professor
Ross Gittell for the NH Women's Policy
Institute
Child poverty in NH continues to rise.
Although the state's median and family incomes continue to rise, so
has child poverty. Nearly 24,000 more children lived in poverty in 2003
than in 2000.
Raising the minimum wage is rewarding parents' work, not giving
them a handout.
Parents who work full-time minimum wage jobs still qualify for welfare
programs and food stamps. What message does this send to children in
low-income working families about the value of work?
Working families are straining local welfare budgets.
Welfare directors told the House and Senate committees that HB 655 will
dramatically help NH cities and towns because fewer families will need
welfare assistance.
The buying power of the minimum wage has dropped significantly since
the last increase in 1997.
People earning minimum wage stay at that wage longer than anyone
has thought.
A study released this week by the Center
for Economic and Policy Research found that one-third of prime-age
(25 to 54) workers in minimum wage jobs are still earning minimum wage
three years later.
Who needs to be contacted
(Click on name to write and send your own an e-mail now. Click
here to send one using the talking points in
our Legislative Action Center.)
District 1, Sen. John Gallus,
Berlin, h-752-1066, o-271-2166 , john.gallus@leg.state.nh.us
District 2, Sen. Carl Johnson,
Meredith, h-279-6492, o-271-3041, carljean@worldpath.net
District 3, Sen. Joseph
Kenney, o-271-3073, joseph.kenney@leg.state.nh.us
District 7, Sen. Robert
Flanders, h- 588-2159, o-271-2246, robert.flanders@leg.state.nh.us
District 8, Sen. Bob Odell, h- 863-9797,
o-271-2104, rpojr@aol.com
District 9, Sen. Sheila
Roberge, h-472-8391, o-271-8630, livia.acdan@leg.state.nh.us
District 10, Senate President
Thomas Eaton, Keene, o-271-2111, thomas.eaton@leg.state.nh.us
District 11, Sen. Peter
Bragdon, Milford, h-673-7135, o-271-6933, SenatorBragdon@Verizon.net
District 14, Sen. Robert Clegg,
Hudson, h-880-6193, o-271-3039, senclegg@aol.com
District 16, Sen. Theodore
Gatsas, Manchester, h-668-1233, o-271-3081, t.gatsas@leg.state.nh.us
District 17, Sen. John
Barnes, Raymond, h-895-9352, o-271-3077, jack.barnes@leg.state.nh.us
District 18, Sen. André
Martel, Manchester, h-622-8411, o-271-8567, andre.martel@leg.state.nh.us
District 19, Sen.
Robert Letourneau, Derry, h-434-1038, o-271-2709, robert.letourneau@leg.state.nh.us
District 22, Sen. Charles
Morse, Salem, h-894-5459, o-271-2641, charles.morse@leg.state.nh.us
Who's my state Senator?
Link to our Legislative Action Center. Scroll
down to "My elected officials."
Thank you for Raising Your Voice for Children.
