Denver, CO – Following a rally on Tuesday in support of a $15/hr federal minimum wage and COVID relief, Colorado service workers today thanked Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper for taking their concerns into account and voting for the $15/hr minimum wage.
“I’ve been a home care worker for the last 15 years, taking care of the most vulnerable in our community,” said Corletta Hithon, home care worker and member of Colorado Care Workers Unite. “ We appreciate Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper listening to Colorado’s care workers and voting for a $15/hr minimum wage, and we need them to keep fighting until we pass it.”
Today, Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper voted for an amendment to the COVID relief package to include the $15/hr minimum wage. The amendment failed 42-58. President Biden and congressional leaders have vowed to continue working to pass the Raise the Wage Act to raise the minimum wage to $15/hr.
Francisco Flores, a custodian at Auraria Higher Education Center said “I’m so glad to see that Senator Hickenlooper listened to workers and voted to include a $15 minimum wage today, but we can’t stop fighting. All of us, no matter what we look like or where we work, deserve wages that support ourselves and our families”
Service workers are expressing determination to fight and win $15/hr., a desperately needed change that would raise wages for nearly 500,000 Colorado workers through the pandemic and beyond. While the amendment for $15 failed to reach the current COVID relief package, working people continue to urge Congress to pass relief for all families.
“Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper continue to show us that when Coloradans speak out about the critical issues affecting our families, they listen,” said Yuliana Guerrero, a Denver janitor for the last six years and member of SEIU Local 105. “We need our Senators to oppose Republican attempts to deny COVID relief to families of mixed immigration status, and continue fighting for a livable wage for all working people in our state.”