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Poughkeepsie Labor Day ralliers demand higher wages

Sep 07, 2016 12:03 am
John Ferro reports in The Poughkeepsie Journal that about 30 activists protested in front of the post office in Poughkeepsie on Labor Day, calling for a quicker rise in the state's minimum wage. While the state adopted a $15-an-hour minimum wage in April, Dutchess employees will get just 70 cents more per hour each year up to at least $12.50 by the start of 2021. "By then," said Jordan Taylor, a 22-year-old Poughkeepsie resident, "people are going to need at least $20 (to) make ends meet." Dutchess County Legislator Joel Tyner (D-Clinton) organized the annual rally with local labor unions. "This Labor Day is very special to me," said Rob Pinto, vice president of the Communications Workers of America Local 1120, after striking against Verizon earlier this year. "What we did not expect was the galvanized support we received.... For seven weeks, we were not CWA anymore. We were a movement against corporate greed." Read the full story in The Poughkeepsie Journal.