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WILKES-BARRE — State Sen. Art Haywood, D-Philadelphia, joined a crowd of local Democratic legislators and organizers for a “Raise the Wage” rally on Public Square, calling on the government to raise the federal minimum wage in order to better serve the American people.
A light rainfall made for some dreary conditions on Sunday, but the weather wasn’t enough to dampen the spirit of Alicia Duque, the outreach organizer for local grassroots organization Action Together NEPA, who organized the rally.
“We don’t mind the rain,” Duque said as she kicked off the rally with a few remarks. “We want to make it rain for our minimum wage workers.”
Duque noted that the federal minimum wage has been sitting at $7.25 for the last 12 years, and that the stagnant wage has allowed for income inequality to continue to grow.
She introduced Haywood, who made the trip up north with his wife, Julia.
“A rainy day won’t stop us,” Haywood said. “I’m proud to be here, on Labor Day weekend, to fight for the workers of this country.”
Haywood told the crowd of an early job he had at McDonald’s, where he made $2 an hour.
“That would be about $11 per hour now,” he said. “The minimum wage was higher back then, than it is now.”
He cited the rising cost of goods like food and gas, due to inflation, as a reason why the minimum wage needs to be raised to $15 per hour.
“Costs are going up, but the money we’re making stays the same,” Haywood said. “It’s putting everyday people further and further behind.”
Sunday’s rally was also dedicated to advocacy for the passing of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or the PRO Act. The act is designed to protect the rights of union workers and laborers.
“It was a common sense vote for me, to support the PRO Act,” said U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, one of Sunday’s speakers. “It represents good jobs, fair wages and the right to organize.”
Additional local speakers included Sharee Clark, a member of the NEPA Freedom Fighters, and state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre.
“Too often, as time goes by, we forget the history involved here,” Pashinski said. “It was the unions who created the middle class.”
During the speeches, a number of supporters (the rain likely kept the crowd from growing too big, but there were a handful of enthusiastic locals in attendance) flashed signs touting the proposed new minimum wage of $15.
There were also multiple signs with the slogan “Reward Work,” with the word “Wealth” crossed out in the middle. This echoed a theme of the afternoon; the rich will get richer at the expense of the working class.
“During the worst of the pandemic, with so many people out of work, this country’s billionaires weren’t worried about a thing,” Cartwright said. “They were just getting richer the whole time.”
Amidst the politicians and organizers, at the very end of the program Larksville native Helene Elko asked to say a few words before everyone headed home.
Elko, 80, had said earlier in the program that she made 96 cents an hour at her first job, and referred to the low minimum wage as “wage robbery.”
But to end the afternoon, Elko left everyone with some words of wisdom.
“We don’t stand on our head, we stand on our base,” she said. “We need to support the base of this country, because if the base crumbles than everything comes down with it.”