In the News

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.

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“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.

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