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Special Martin Luther King Day event
sounds call to action on living wages |
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The Living Wage Day was part of a nationwide call to action organized by the Let Justice Roll coalition. UUSC is on the steering committee of the coalition, and was a cosponsor of the event in Quincy. Kennedy spoke of his pride in representing working people in the United States and King's legacy. When King spoke on the steps of the Abraham Lincoln memorial in 1963, said Kennedy, he spoke of "the fierce urgency of now." Kennedy, reiterating that theme, said that now is the time to raise the minimum wage. "Who are the recipients of the minimum wage?" he asked. They are men and women of dignity, he said. They are proud individuals who want to do their jobs well. "The minimum wage is a women's issue! It's a children's issue! It's a moral issue! It's a family issue! It's a civil rights issue! And it's a fairness issue! And the American people understand fairness. If someone works 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, they shouldn't have to live in poverty in the richest country in the world!" He pointed out that it has been nine years since the last increase of the minimum wage, which now stands at $5.15 an hour. During that time, members of Congress have voted themselves seven pay increases – a situation he called "unconscionable." Former Congressman Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, said, "It’s not too late for us to take back the agenda of this nation. If you work full time at the minimum wage, at this moment in this nation, 52 weeks a year, you make $5,000 below the poverty level." UUSC President Charlie Clements told the audience that living wage campaigns, such as the successful one supported by UUSC in Santa Fe, N.M., have been successful in lifting families out of poverty while also helping local businesses. "In every city or municipality where a living wage has been enacted, it has put money in workers' pockets that is almost immediately put back into the local economy." His UUSC colleague, Senior Associate Wayne Smith, said that he found comfort from the words of President John Adams during the country's drive for independence from England. Adams said, "In this dangerous crisis, the people of America were not abandoned by their usual good sense, presence of mind, resolution, or integrity." Indeed, Smith said, "the American people are a fair-minded people, and I believe we will succeed because we are a fair-minded people. And that will be a true birthday gift to Dr. King. The success of the Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign is one more important step toward making Dr. King’s dream a reality!" Both John Adams and his son, President John Quincy Adams, were members of the Quincy church. Their tombs stand in a crypt within the church, beside those of their wives, Abigail and Louisa Catherine. All of the speakers reflected King's view of how racial justice and economic justice are intertwined. The Rev. Hurmon Hamilton, pastor of Roxbury Presbyterian Church and president of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, reminded the crowd that King died in Memphis while marching with sanitation workers who were fighting for justice and dignity. Hamilton called on the legislators present to celebrate King’s legacy "by integrating the half a million people [in Massachusetts] without health care into the system of affordable, quality health care." Rocio Saenz, president of SEIU Local 615 (Service Employees International Union), reminded the audience that the best way to honor Dr. King is by living his dream. "Today, working families are under attack. Many people have to work two or three jobs to make ends meet." Margarita Restrepo, a member of the SEIU Local 615 executive board, said she dreams of a better future for her children, but she has no health insurance for herself or her children. "It’s ironic," she said, "that despite the fact that I clean a hospital, I don’t have health care. That's why I'm an active member of my union and my community." Maude Hurd, national president of ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now – a leader in the national living wage movement and a member of Let Justice Roll), emphasized the need for action. She said Let Justice Roll is working toward minimum wage initiatives on ballots in Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, and Ohio, as well as building a national campaign to raise the minimum wage. "We can't rest until justice rolls," Hurd exhorted. “Let justice roll now!” All in attendance were moved by the soaring strains of the New England Conservatory Millennium Gospel Choir. Other speakers included the Rev. Sheldon Bennett, minister of the host church, United First Parish Church Unitarian, and Mayor William J. Phelan of Quincy. Read the NY Times magazine article (PDF) |
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