V. Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R. Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
V. Create in us clean hearts, O God;
R. And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
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Morning Prayer, Rite II, BCP 1979, p. 98
I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the poor and render justice to the needy.
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Psalm 140:12, BCP 1979, pp. 796 (Twenty-ninth Day: Evening Prayer)
As Episcopalians, we are blessed to be able to turn to Morning and Evening Prayer, with their rhythm of daily Scriptures and prayers, to center ourselves and all of our actions in God. These prayers and this verse came immediately to mind when I thought about why the Healthy Families, Fair Wages Ballot Initiative - which will be on the November 5 ballot as Proposition A – is important to me personally and professionally.
When passed, Prop A will finally, officially, get the Missouri minimum hourly wage to $15.00 per hour, which is NOT a living wage, but IS more than twice as much as the current federal minimum wage of $7.25. Prop A will also give hourly workers the ability to earn paid sick time at the rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, which will support workers in getting help for physical and mental illnesses and strengthen Missouri families by ensuring that parents have time to care for their children when they are sick, without worrying about losing their pay or losing their jobs.
Paid sick leave is personally important to me because, when I lost over one-third of my blood giving birth to my youngest child, my husband could not take any paid sick leave to take care of me and our children. By American standards, he had a “good” job with “great” benefits and yet, we did not have what we needed. Our experience made me realize just how vulnerable families with fewer social and economic resources must be in times of illness and injury.
How can you help? A great place to start is to ask your clergy, vestry, and other leadership committees to endorse Proposition A. Another step would be to print & distribute this bulletin insert, which explains the issue in more detail. My colleagues and I are also available as guest preachers or speakers in the next two months, so please reach out to me if you are interested in hosting one of us. And most importantly, Missouri Jobs With Justice (where I work as Champions Organizer) is organizing Missouri voters through door-to-door canvassing, text-banking, and phone banking opportunities to support Prop A: the Healthy Families, Fair Wages campaign. To get involved, you can find events in regions throughout Missouri on the MOJWJ calendar here, or you can email me at teresa@mojwj.org. Thank you in advance for anything you can do to support working families by passing Proposition A.