For Immediate Release
Contact: Bob Backus
Phone: 668-7272

WHAT IS A LIVABLE WAGE ACCORDING TO TED GATSAS?

Manchester – During the State Senate Debate hosted by the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council, Ted Gatsas once again showed he's out of touch with the working families of New Hampshire.

Trying to rationalize why he voted against raising the minimum wage from $5.15 to 7.25, Ted Gatsas stated that he felt half of the people who earn minimum wage were just "waiters and waitresses" and that "$7.50 an hour is not a livable wage."

After the debate, Bob Backus said, "This is just another example of how Ted serves his own interests rather than representing the working families of New Hampshire. Would Ted Gatsas have supported raising the minimum wage higher? I would."

"Ted Gatsas said time and time again that business is the goose that laid the golden egg. I think that supporting business is important but I don't think you have to do it at the expense of workers. Ted Gatsas has been part of the problem for too long."

An estimated 26,500 New Hampshire workers are benefiting from the increase, most of them women, parents or older adults, according to research conducted by Ross Gittell, of the University of New Hampshire. Research at the national level have found that states that have raised the minimum wage saw better growth, lower unemployment and decreased poverty rates.

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Jarard Kings
New Hampshire Democratic Party
379 Elm St
Manchester, NH 03101