LAS CRUCES, N.M. – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) will visit the Mountainview Market in Las Cruces on Thursday, October 16, 2014 at 11:30 a.m. to talk about the growing income inequality in America and the importance of raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 for all workers.
“Tackling income inequality will strengthen New Mexico families,” said Sen. Heinrich. “I’m glad to see Las Cruces taking the initiative on raising the minimum wage. It’s time to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour for all workers across the country.”
During his visit to Mountainview Market, which pays their employees above the current minimum wage, Senator Heinrich will be joined by local business owners and workers, along withNM Comunidades en Accion y de Fe (CAFé), a local multi-faith, multi-cultural organization dedicated to improving quality of life in Southern New Mexico, including raising the minimum wage in Las Cruces.
Senator Heinrich is a co-sponsor of the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 over three years and index future increases to inflation. It would help lift families out of poverty, reduce reliance on safety net programs, and give more than 27 million working Americans a raise.
More than 147,000 New Mexicans would benefit from raising the minimum wage to $10.10, and 43,000 more earners would see their pay increase as overall wages improve, dramatically increasing economic opportunities for hardworking people, including 87,000 parents. Nearly 2 out of 3 low-wage earners are women and over half, 55% or roughly 83,000 women, will benefit from improved wages. Moreover raising the minimum wage in New Mexico would put roughly $201 million dollars in people’s pockets to spend in the local economy. In Las Cruces, improved wages would boost the pay of 18,000 workers whose lives will improve by the city’s new law to raise the wage to $10.10 by 2017, including increased tipped wages.