The coalition, which includes Good Jobs Better Baltimore, has taken action to let the legislature know that low-wage workers badly need a raise. The bill we’re backing would increase the state minimum from just $7.25 to $10 an hour by 2015.

Despite the bill’s wide popularity, the Chamber of Commerce and big businesses lined up against it, and on March 20 the Senate Finance Committee voted to shelve the bill in this year’s legislative session. Organizers say, however, that this is just the beginning of the campaign.

The evening after the bill was voted down, supporters gathered again in front of the State House. Over 200 people joined clergy from across Maryland in a candlelight vigil. It was a powerful show of support and a strong sign that the fight will continue.

“When you are fighting against big corporations like Wal-Mart and McDonalds, it can be a difficult and long struggle but we are confident that we will win this fight,” said Raise Maryland campaign coordinator Mat Hanson. “Maryland working families are struggling to get by and now more than ever we need to act.”

With so much accomplished so quickly, it’s only a matter of time before Maryland’s low-wage workers get the raise they deserve.

The nation is now less than two weeks away from the March 1 deadline when the devastating cuts known as “sequestration” would take effect. These reckless across-the-board cuts would slash funding for Head Start, food safety inspection and other vital programs.

Now word has come from Washington that some are seeking cuts to Social Security as well. And so activists from Good Jobs Better Baltimore and our coalition partners rallied outside Social Security’s offices with signs that said “Hands off Social Security” and “No More Cuts to Social Services.”

In what has become an all-too-familiar scene, Congressional Republicans are playing a dangerous game of chicken with the nation’s economy. While insisting on savage cuts to programs that help the most vulnerable among us, GOP congressmen like Maryland Rep. Andy Harris are refusing to ask the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share in taxes.

Less than a month ago, Good Jobs Better Baltimore led an action outside Harris’ office in Bel Air that alerted the public to Harris’ dangerous game. That Jan. 30 protest and Wednesday’s Social Security demonstration were both part of national protests highlighting how right-wing lawmakers like Harris are jeopardizing our fragile economic recovery and putting American jobs at risk.

If you’re concerned about Harris’ reckless stance, you can take a stand here at our national day of action website, and tell him and other lawmakers “We Need Jobs, Not Cuts!”

Activists from Good Jobs Better Baltimore rallied with our coalition partners as part of a national day of action drawing attention to the looming — and wholly avoidable — fiscal crisis in Washington. Harris and his conservative colleagues in Congress are refusing to engage in good-faith talks with President Obama to avoid the devastating spending cuts known as the “sequester.” It’s those sequester cuts that would tip America over the fiscal cliff.

The sequester was passed as part of a bipartisan budget compromise in 2011. Its harsh across-the-board cuts were tentatively scheduled to go into effect on March 1, 2013. But the sequester’s cuts were seen as so extreme that they would force both parties to find common ground before they took effect.

However, instead of seeking a responsible compromise, Harris and his right-wing GOP caucus are engaging in reckless brinksmanship as the March 1 deadline approaches. They adamantly refuse any deal that would spare the worst cuts by asking wealthy Americans to pay their fair share in taxes.

Harris’ position is clearly out of step with what Americans voted for in the 2012 election, and it’s a huge threat to the future of our economy.

If you’re concerned about Harris’ reckless stance, you can take a stand here at our national day of action website, and tell him and other lawmakers “We Need Jobs, Not Cuts!”

“Our people are working harder but aren’t earning more,” said Maryland Senate Majority Leader Rob Garagiola, a co-sponsor of the bill that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $10 an hour. Living costs keep rising, Garagiola noted, but the minimum wage hasn’t kept up.

In fact, if the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation over the last 40 years it would now be $10.67 an hour. “We boast that Maryland is one of the wealthiest states in the union,” said bill co-sponsor Del. Aisha Braveboy, “but do you know what it costs to live here?” Maryland’s current minimum wage is set at the lowest level allowed by the federal government. We now lag behind the District of Columbia and the 18 states that have already set their minimum wage above the federal level.

The rally launched what will be an ongoing campaign backed by the diverse coalition that comprises Raise Maryland. The coalition’s supporters include small business owners, clergy members, unions and policy advocates as well as low-wage workers like Lourdes Chaparro, who spoke at the event.

Chaparro told of the struggles her family has endured trying to make ends meet while she and her husband work low-wage jobs. Chaparro works at a home-cleaning company and has a husband who recently suffered a debilitating injury. “As hourly workers, we didn’t have sick time or health insurance to defray the costs,” Chaparro said.

It is because of families like Lourdes Chaparro’s — and the estimated 536,000 other Marylanders whose pay would be boosted by a minimum wage increase to $10 an hour — that this vibrant group came together to share their message despite the bitter cold. It is also for these hard working Marylanders that Raise Maryland will continue to fight until we have successfully lifted Maryland’s minimum wage.

BALTIMORE – July 24th, 2012 – As concern grows over Baltimore’s declining population, city leaders urged Congress today to raise the federal minimum wage, pointing to the boost it would provide to Baltimore’s residents and to the city’s recovering economy.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young joined fellow council members, minimum wage workers, clergy, and community supporters to announce a plan to introduce a City Council resolution supporting the “Rebuild America Act,” which Democrats hope to bring to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives next month.

The bill would raise the federal minimum wage 85 cents a year for three years, bringing it to nearly $10 by late 2014.  The law would then adjust the minimum wage each year to keep pace with the rising cost of living.  It would also raise the sub minimum wage of $2.13 for tipped employees for the first time in more than 20 years.

“Too many of our neighbors are struggling to make ends meet on wages that have not kept up with the cost of rent, food or transportation,” Young said.  ”Too many jobs in Baltimore have been replaced by low-wage jobs.  If we don’t raise wages soon for our lowest paid workers, it will mean more families leaving our city, more small businesses that depend on consumer spending shutting their doors for good, and more vacant homes in our communities.  Our city can’t afford inaction on this issue.”

Baltimore was one of just three major U.S. cities, along with Detroit and Cleveland, to experience a population decline in the last census.  During the exodus of working families between 2000 and 2010, the city lost on average eight residents a day, represented at the press conference by eight silhouettes flanking presenters as they spoke.  Baltimore’s dwindling population has paralleled the decline in good family-sustaining jobs in the once thriving regional shipping and manufacturing center.  Currently, just 6 percent of jobs in the city are in mid-wage manufacturing while over 90 percent are in the low-paying service sector.

Bruce Gross, a minimum wage worker who spoke at today’s press conference talked about the hardships he faces trying to support his family on $7.36 per hour.  ”I’m trying to raise three kids and two nephews on minimum wage and there isn’t enough for even the basic necessities.  Raising the federal minimum wage could help end a huge struggle that families like mine face every day when we have to choose between paying bills and buying food or school supplies for our children.”

The wage increase would have a direct positive impact on the wages of 320,000 Marylanders and would generate $1 billion in new consumer spending in the state, according to Progressive Maryland.   Tuesday’s press conference was part of a national day of action by leaders, activists and community organizations in 30 cities across the country urging Congress to pass the “Rebuild America Act.”

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One saving grace is low interest student loans, but now that may be in jeopardy too. Congress — especially the Senate — is hopelessly deadlocked due to election year politics. As a result, the fate of Stafford loans, utilized by low and middle-income students, hangs in the balance.

If the Senate cannot reach a compromise by July 1st, attending college will become more difficult for millions of Americans.

Sign on and let others know that you believe America is at its strongest when people receive a good education. We need to prepare today’s youth for the jobs of tomorrow and a college education is one of the best ways to do that.

Sign our petition and tell Congress to keep interest rates on student loans low!

http://action.goodjobsbetterbaltimore.org/loans

Ironically, the United States does not officially recognize May Day as a holiday; rather, President Glover Cleveland backed a national labor holiday in September, which would become Labor Day. Nevertheless, Americans still take to the streets on May 1st — in solidarity with other workers around the world — to protect workers’ rights, and other issues of regional and national importance.

In Baltimore, we are joining the national movement to hold corporations, members of the 1%, and our own government accountable. Foreclosures, mass unemployment, a lack of regulation in the banking industry, unfair development projects (like the EBDI), and the focus on youth jails over educational spending, have caused Baltimoreans to awaken from a slumber. We need policies that will help support a strong and vibrant middle class in our city.

Baltimore is and has been ground zero for many of these economic troubles. We all see the vacant buildings and lots, the crumbling schools and the lack of job opportunities and understand how they contribute to a general sense of despair. However, when we give in to these feelings of despair, corporations and other entrenched interests win. Our power lies in collective unity. By standing together and not giving up, we have the chance to win real change.  This May Day, we fought for what we believe in.

For more pictures, check out our Facebook page.

Carrying signs and handing out leaflets, activists sought to let people know that Wells Fargo needs to become a better corporate citizen.

Customers are tired of being treated like a statistic. While Wells Fargo’s leadership worries about bonuses, dividends, and stock prices, its customers are worried about keeping their homes — or their jobs.

It is a serious situation that demands our attention. According to a recent blog post in the Huffington Post, once again banks are getting “too big to fail.” Banks are also pushing back on regulations that are meant to keep us from falling back into the financial abyss. Unfortunately, they are winning. We have not learned anything from the past several years. It’s the lack of regulation that helped doom AIG and Lehman Brothers. These are not good trends, which makes it all the more important for people to speak out against these policies.

• More pictures from our sign spinning
• Information on the protest at the Wells Fargo shareholder meeting in San Francisco

By utilizing subprime mortgages, targeting minority communities, and processing applications with robo-signing, big banks have created a situation that will take years to fix. According to a recent report, 1 in 11 Maryland children directly affected by foreclosure.

However, over the last several months we’ve — along with groups like the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition — been working on solutions to hold banks accountable and improve the lives of people in our community. Thanks to our efforts, we’ve produced some tangible results in Annapolis.

During this session, the Maryland state legislature has passed some key legislation to help consumers. Here are some of the highlights:

If you’d like to pledge your support, please sign our petition. Let’s show the big banks that people are in favor of helping families stay in their homes.