Oakland's Fruitvale Village was host to hundreds of Lift Up Oakland coalition members on Saturday as they launched a campaign to raise the city's minimum wage.
Lift Up Oakland is a new coalition and campaign of low-wage workers, unions, clergy and community organizations gathering signatures for a ballot measure to raise the minimum wage to $12.25 an hour and allow workers to earn sick leave, and to ensure workers receive an annual cost-of-living increase.
The measure has been endorsed by the Alameda Central Labor Council, and SEIU 1021 is a main coalition partner along with numerous other Bay Area unions and community organizations.
Lift Up Oakland coalition members spoke up in support of creating better working standards for low-wage workers as well as workers like Re Bun Ly (pictured), who told the gathering that "we don’t get paid sick days, so we go to work sick because we cannot afford to lose a day’s pay. It’s not just our family, it is so many families out here.”
After the rally, coalition members spent the rest of the day going door-to-door collecting signatures and informing the public about the conditions low-wage workers face.
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