To: Governor Andrew Cuomo

Raise New York's Minimum Wage

Governor Cuomo, please raise New York's minimum wage to $8.50 per hour.

Why is this important?

My name is Myrna, from Kingston, New York. I am a low-wage worker, making just over the minimum wage. It's impossible to make ends meet. I wait until 5pm to go grocery shopping, because I can get bread at a discount. I just hope I can provide a better future for my daughter.

The minimum wage in New York is just $7.25/hr. That's just over $15,000 a year. That's a poverty wage, and no family in New York should have to survive on it.

My family, like hundreds of thousands of low wage workers across New York, deserves a raise.

Governor Cuomo has proved he can get his priorities done in Albany. Now Governor Cuomo should show that he cares about low-income families like mine, and not just about the demands of big corporations.

When gambling bigwigs showed up with big contributions for the Committee to Save New York, Gov. Cuomo listened. Low-wage families don't have millions of dollars. But we need Gov. Cuomo's help too.

The Assembly has passed a bill to raise the minimum wage. But it will take Governor Cuomo's leadership to pass it in the Senate.