ON THE PICKET LINE Maggie Trowe, Editor

Help the Militant cover labor struggles across the country! This column gives a voice to those engaged in battle and building solidarity today — including workers fighting for $15 and a union; locked-out ATI Steelworkers; Verizon workers opposing concessions; construction workers demanding safe conditions. I invite those involved in workers’ battles to contact me at 306 W. 37th St., 13th Floor, New York, NY 10018; or (212) 244-4899; or themilitant@mac.com . We’ll work together to ensure your story is told.

New York union rally demands statewide $15 minimum wage

ALBANY, N.Y. — A thousand unionists and other workers rallied at the state Capitol here Jan. 13 to demand increasing the state minimum wage to $15 an hour. The rally took place before the annual “State of the State” speech by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who promoted his proposal for an incremental wage raise to $15 in 2019 in New York City and elsewhere in the state two years later.

“I have to work 75 hours a week for two different agencies to support my daughter,” Vileta Hicks, a home health care aide, told the Militant. “We need a pay raise. I need to spend more time with my family.”

Unions organized buses from New York City and from Buffalo, Long Island, Rochester and Syracuse. Aurora Luna, a 25-year Manhattan building cleaner and member of Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, came in solidarity with lower-paid workers fighting for $15.

“I’ve worked for Kentucky Fried Chicken for 23 years and only make a bit over $8 an hour,” Wilton Major told the Militant. “There’s no way to support a family, $15 is only the beginning.”

Marina Svitlana, who has worked for the same health aide agency in New York City for 16 years, said “I started at $7.14 an hour. Now I make $10. You do the math.”

“When I started they gave us more benefits, for the whole family — husband and children,” said Ukrainian-born Iryna. Then for several years only the employee was covered. Last November children were restored, but not spouses.

“If we work a 24-hour job we are only paid $16.95 total for eight hours of ‘sleep,’” said Svitlana. “If you’re taking care of two people at the same time, they only add 50 cents an hour. They are abusing us.” Iryna added, “That’s why we fight for $15.”

— Candace Wagner