Raise the Wage, Kansas City is a new community group, founded in January 2008, which is asking the Unified Government of Wyandotte County-Kansas City, Kansas to raise the local minimum wage to the national level.

Currently, the national minimum wage is $5.85 per hour. In 2009, that wage will rise to $7.25. But at least 17,000 Kansas workers, including many in WyCo-KCK, are NOT covered by this minimum wage rate but, rather, by the shamefully low Kansas state wage of $2.65 an hour.

Raise the Wage says: $2.65 is peanuts! No workers in WyCo, or in Kansas, should be paid less than the national minimum wage. That is why we have begun a petition drive to raise the wage in WyCo-KCK to the national level.

(online petition coming soon…)

Raise the Wage, KC is a project of the Kansas Action Network, which was founded in 1997 to serve as a state-wide coalition for workers’ rights, social justice and economic fairness. KAN’s 30 member organizations include many tens of thousands of Kansans on their rosters. These affiliated organizations include the Kansas AFL-CIO, the United Methodist Church, the Southeast Kansas Independent Living Center, the National Association of Social Workers, the Topeka Center for Peace & Justice and the Flint Hills Living Wage Coalition.

KAN’s previous efforts to raise the minimum wage – mainly by legislative lobbying – have not yet succeeded. Since the Kansas legislature has proven reluctant to raise the wage, we’re asking cities to do the right thing.

That’s why we’re pursuing campaigns to raise the wage floor on a city-by-city basis in Wichita, Topeka, and Wyandotte County-Kansas City, Kansas. We are seeking support from individuals, groups, and elected officials to push for a minimum wage equal to the federal minimum that accounts for annual cost-of-living increases.

If you’d like to help with our petition drives and with our other efforts to build public awareness of the mutual benefits of a higher minimum wage – for workers, businesses and the overall economy – please contact Heidi Zeller:

Heidi Zeller
785.760.2764 home/office
raisethewagekansas@gmail.com