If our politicians really care about Florida’s workers, they should know what it is like to live in our shoes, trying to feed our families, pay rent and do our work on a minimum wage. Eighteen legislators in Florida and our Executive Vice President, Monica Russo, accepted the Minimum Wage Challenge, and last week they lived on minimum wage for five days. This is a result of the lobbying of low-wage workers like our member Rochelle Salzedo, who went to Tallahassee a couple of weeks ago to ask state legislators for a living wage of $15 an hour. Check out the video and some pictures.

Click here and ask your state Senator and Representative to accept the Minimum Wage Challenge

Our state legislators have always had the opportunity to raise the minimum wage and support Florida’s hardworking families who are struggling to make ends meet, but they haven’t. However, we refuse to give up because we know the tide is turning.

Recently, Senator Dwight Bullard (Miami) and Representative Victor Torres (Orlando) filed two identical bills they introduced in the Florida House and Senate seeking to raise the minimum wage from $8.05 to $15/hour. They are urging other legislators to support the bills during the 2016 legislative session.

A couple of weeks ago, Rochelle Salzedo, a nurse assistant from Palm Bay and 1199 SEIU Florida Delegate, joined dozens of low-wage workers in Tallahassee for a day to advocate for a living wage of $15 an hour and the right to join a union, so thousands of families out of an endless cycle of poverty. After years as a nurse assistant, Rochelle earns nearly $15 and is a proud union member. She shared her story with legislators, reporters and other workers, because she knows how hard it is to sustain a family on a minimum wage, and how much a union can protect and empower workers like her. During that lobbying day, Rochelle and the rest of the workers invited all legislators to show they support Florida's working families by accepting the Minimum Wage Challenge.

While Florida’s workers still struggle to survive on one of the lowest minimum wages in the country, a minimum wage of $15 an hour is quickly becoming the new standard nationwide. Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles have already approved the increase in minimum wage for all workers, and New York State recently approved an increase in minimum wage to $15 an hour for fast-food workers.

Now, all we need is for all of our state Senators and Representatives to support $15 in Florida and vote to it in 2016.

Send them a message and ask them to take the Minimum Wage Challenge!