We, the undersigned Virginian citizens, call for our State Senators, Delegates and Governor to enact legislation that raises Virginia's minimum wage to $15.00/hr, indexes it with per capita income growth and ensures all workers' rights to unionize.

Here are 4 huge reasons:
1. In 1968, almost 50 years ago, the lowest-paid workers earned  what is equal to $10.75/hr today.

2. Accounting for inflation, productivity and income growth in the US since 1968, minimum wage should be $21.56 - $25.00/hr.

3. Over 2 million Virginians (many with college degrees ) live in or near poverty, perpetuated by low wages that don't meet costs of living. Here are actual poverty levels in VA (based on average minimum expenses in Roanoke without a car , savings, emergency money , or public assistance, and going by a 40-hr work week):
1 adult and 1 child = $12.60/hr
1 adult and 2 children = $17.52/hr

4. Paying well pays well. (Financially: putting more money in people's pockets allows them to buy the things they produce and stimulate the economy; Socially/Spiritually: studies  show that life satisfaction for all economic groups increases as minimum wage and the lowest standard of living increases).

**Common misconceptions:
1. Raising minimum wage doesn't have to drastically raise prices. Big businesses can pay living wages through small price increases of 1-2% (a $1.00 product goes up to $1.02) and adopting a slightly less extreme income distribution (i.e. share more, instead of a CEO making 380x more than the lowest-paid worker). Small businesses can be given more time to raise wages, and possibly subsidized by eliminating corporate welfare and increasing taxes on big businesses.

2. It also has nothing to do with work ethic. Quality of service is a company's responsibility; if there's bad service, stop shopping there.

Sources:
1. Minimum wage in 1968 was $1.60/hr. CPI Inflation Calculator (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
2. Economists In Support Of A $10.50 U.S. Minimum Wage (University of Massachusetts)
​Minimum Wage (Inequality.org)
3. Virginia QuickFacts (US Census Bureau)
​State Health Facts (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
​Actual Poverty Level for 1 Adult & 1 Child (15 Now Roanoke)
4. Does A Higher Minimum Wage Make People Happier (Washington Post)
** Economists In Support Of A $10.50 U.S. Minimum Wage (University of Massachusetts).
The Minimum Wage: Putting Some Myths To Rest (The Stranger: Slog)
​If Walmart Paid Its Employees a Living Wage, How Much Would Prices Go Up? (Slate)