Forum Post: Waging a war for a fair wage

Wars are fought daily, not a day here and a day there. If we want a better wage, we not only have to demand it, but must use leverage to obtain it.

Our weapon of choice, the strike, is the most effective way to achieve this. Let's pick a day to begin a strike, such as May 1st, and not end it until our demands are met. We should start by raising the minimum wage just $1 an hour. We continue the strike until wages are raised. Period. Any businesses that do not cooperate will continue to be struck by their minimum wage employees and boycotted by their customers. This will prevent scabs from breaking the strike because the customer boycott is the other jaw that we use to keep the squeeze on, preventing employers from wriggling out of our grip.

Because $1 per hour is relatively small, it will cause very minor disruption in our economy and be much easier to accept than a larger one time raise in wages. Business owners might even encourage Congress to raise wages rather than deal with the negative consequences of a protracted strike.

On the same date a year later, we strike and boycott again until minimum wage is raised another dollar. After 5 years the minimum wage will be up to $12.25, without major economic disruption.

A few facts about minimum wage workers you probably didn't know. Among those paid by the hour, 1.7 million earned exactly the prevailing Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Half of these workers are over 25 years of age. we're not just talking about kids working in fast food places. About 2.2 million had wages below the minimum wage. Those nearly 4 million workers make up 5% of the workforce.

http://www.bls.gov/cps/minwage2011.htm

If we want change, it is up to the people to force it, by peaceful means. It will never be given freely by those who oppress us.