Recap & Coverage

Saru Jayaraman

"Half of American workers cannot afford to meet the cost of living — which is no less than $25 an hour anywhere in the United States. Workers say, 'You want us to vote to save democracy? We work three jobs — what has democracy done for us?' Until we raise the wage to a living wage, we can't expect working people to feel excited about saving democracy."

Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL-01)

"We're standing here because we stand with the workers of America. What do workers want? They want the American dream. We don't come here today to ask for scrap wages, part-time wages, minimum wage. We want a livable wage. Work should equal dignity. Work should equal your way out of poverty."

"This nation has stood by a minimum wage for the last 17 years — $7 an hour, 17 years later. People are working every day. Let me let my colleagues on the Republican side know: people in America are not lazy. People in America are tired, and it's not working for them. So I stand here today asking — demanding — a minimum wage of $25."

"We're not asking for a handout. We're asking for what's fair, what's right, and we're not going back home until we get what the American Dream has promised us. We paid in, we have delivered, and now it's time our nation fulfills its promises 250 years later. Work should not equal poverty; work must equal dignity; work must mean a livable wage for all."

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12)

"I come from a city that always speaks truth. When I first got elected, somebody asked me about the minimum wage, and I said we should already be at $20, $25 — and it went viral in right-wing media. But all the comments from the people who followed them were supportive."

"They think this is not achievable — $25 an hour. You know what's messed up? This week, instead of tackling the cost of living, instead of taking on corporate greed, they are taking up the Department of War budget that can't pass an audit — eight audits in a row that it's failed. It's shameful that they support a budget for death and destruction, yet we want a living wage for all that literally helps people in our country thrive."

"I love what Jonathan said: a job should not mean poverty, a job should mean dignity. I call them starvation wages — call it whatever you want. But $7 an hour — you can go across this country and it will tell you, that is [expletive]."

"Look at CEO pay go up drastically, yet our residents are literally in survivor mode. They are exhausted. Have you ever talked to someone who teaches our children during the day, then has to leave and work another job? Have you ever talked to a server trying to put themselves through school who gets less than $3 an hour? It is shameful, and it's 2026. So I say to everyone: ask your members of Congress, 'Do you support Living Wage For All?' Co-sponsor it. Demand leadership take it up."

Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-01)

"I am deeply proud to represent New Mexico's first congressional district and the working people of my state who get up every single day to take care of families that are still struggling to make ends meet."

"I'm proud to be a co-sponsor of this bill, because this fight is personal. I grew up in a working family, with a single mom, a family that had to work multiple jobs to make ends meet and still didn't know how we'd get to the end of the month. I grew up waiting tables and digging trenches and working for a subminimum wage. So this fight is personal."

"For 17 years, the federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 an hour. How can you afford housing, groceries, child care, health care — nearly every necessity a family needs — on $7.25 an hour? You can't. No one should have to work full time and choose between paying rent or buying groceries, and no one should go hungry in the richest country on planet Earth."

"This is an economy that was not built for working people, but for billionaires and CEOs. The rules have been written by the wealthy instead of the workers. These are policy choices. This is not just a failing economy — this is a system that is rigged."

"That is why we need a different vision for America: a living wage for all, housing for all, health care for all, restoring SNAP, forgiving crushing student debt, building affordable housing, protecting Social Security, and free child care and early childhood education. This is the future we are fighting for — and the future we will be voting for this November."

Sally Kohn (Emcee)

"Worker productivity in this country has gone up over the last 40 years. Do you know where that money has gone? CEOs and shareholders. CEOs in this country now make 281 times more than the average worker. Do you think CEOs are working 281 times harder than you? Do you think they're 281 times more deserving? Or do you think they might be 281 times more greedy? Who makes this country work? We do."

"The most powerful people here are the people right behind us — the working folks taking extra time out of their days to make sure their voices are heard by the decision makers."

"We're moments away from handing out bags of groceries to show what a difference $25 an hour as the federal minimum wage would actually make in folks' lives. And that's just groceries — we haven't even gotten to electricity, gas, and the rest."