For Immediate Release
Contact: Betsy Leondar-Wright, Let Justice Roll 781-704-4039 (cell), betsy@classmatters.org
VALUES VOTE, MINIMUM WAGE REFERENDA ANALYZED IN POST-ELECTION TELECONFERENCE
State minimum wage ballot organizers (OH, MT, MO, AZ and CO); leaders of the national Let Justice Roll campaign; business leaders; and a low-wage worker will address the topics below and answer reporters' questions on a telephone press conference two days after the election:
-- What happened with state minimum wage referenda, and why?
-- How did the "values vote" impact the election?; How effective were faith-based efforts to frame poverty wages as a moral issue?
-- How did voters respond to the competing business voices for and against raising the minimum wage?
-- What are the next steps for raising the minimum wage at the state and federal level?
WHEN: THURSDAY, NOV. 9, at 12 noon Eastern
HOW: Call 1-800-362-0571 and say passcode "minimum." Journalists can ask questions of the speakers by pressing *7.
WHO:
-- REV. PAUL SHERRY, national coordinator, Let Justice Roll campaign and co-author, "A Just Minimum Wage: Good for Workers, Business and Our Future"
-- REV. BOB EDGAR, general secretary, National Council of Churches, former Congressman, and author, "Middle Church: Reclaiming the Moral Values of the Faithful Majority from the Religious Right"
-- MONTANA: Doug Mitchell, campaign manager, Raise Montana, Helena
-- OHIO: Rev. Tim Ahrens, senior pastor, First Congregational Church UCC, Columbus
-- MISSOURI: Rev. Audrey Hollis, lead organizer, Let Justice Roll Missouri, St. Louis
-- COLORADO: Terri McMaster, leader in Let Justice Roll Colorado, and director, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry, Denver
-- ARIZONA: Rev. Trina Zelle, lead organizer, Let Justice Roll Arizona, Tempe
-- LOW-WAGE WORKER: Mack McCowan, a worker affected by the Ohio results, Cleveland
-- SMALL-BUSINESS OWNER: Lew Prince, co-owner, Vintage Vinyl, St. Louis; featured on PBS Now show on minimum wage
-- VENTURE CAPITALIST: Adnan Durrani, president of Condor Ventures, Stamford, CT; venture partner, Blue Chip Venture Capital, Cincinnati, OH
Let Justice Roll is a fast-growing national nonpartisan partnership of more than 80 organizations working for a higher minimum wage at the state and federal level. Leading Let Justice Roll members include the National Council of Churches-USA, American Friends Service Committee, United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, Union for Reform Judaism and Interfaith Worker Justice.
For more information about member groups and the Let Justice Roll campaign, visit http://www.letjusticeroll.org.
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