WASHINGTON -- To call attention to the plight of those living on the minimum wage, former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and U.S. Reps. Tim Ryan, Jan Schakowsky and Keith Ellison will attempt to live on it for a week.
Next week will mark five years since the federal minimum wage was last increased, noted Ryan’s office in announcing the challenge.
Strickland, who also served in the U.S. House of Representatives prior to being elected Ohio governor in 2006, and Ryan, D-13 Howland, Schakowsky, D-9 Evanston, and Ellison, D-5 Minneapolis, will be joined by Brad Woodhouse, president of Americans United for Change, and Heather Holstein, a low-wage worker, on a conference call to discuss the “Live the Wage Challenge.” They plan to live on the minimum wage for a week and journal their experiences on social media.
Other legislators and advocacy groups have participated in similar challenges.
In 2007, Ryan and Schakowsky were among a group of congressional Democrats who participated in a challenge to dine on $21 per week, or the equivalent of what the average food stamp recipient receives in for a week.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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