The Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis recently passed a resolution advocating for an increase in the minimum wage. JCRC is the public policy arm of the organized Jewish community in the region, which frequently takes positions on issues of public concern.  

The current minimum wage is $7.25 nationally and $7.35 in Missouri. 

“An individual working full time at the current federal or Missouri minimum wage would still be living below the Federal Poverty Level for a family of two or more,” said Les Sterman, Vice President of JCRC and chair of its Domestic Issues Advocacy Committee. “JCRC sees raising the minimum wage as a critical component of any effort to reduce income inequality, a pressing issue for our region, state and nation.”

The resolution passed includes several recommended action steps:

• Support of legislation and/or ballot initiatives to raise the minimum wage, with the long–term objective to provide a living wage for working families

• Support regional minimum wage increases above the state minimum wage, where necessary to address differential cost of living conditions, especially in urban areas

• Support legislation to pay tipped restaurant workers no less than the minimum wage

• Educate the Jewish community about the need for an increased minimum wage and the elimination of a sub-minimum wage for tipped restaurant workers “as a necessary part of a strategy to address poverty and income inequality.”

Read the full resolution online at stljewishlight.com/minimum-wage. For more information about the JCRC, contact JCRC Director of Domestic Issues/Social Justice Gail Wechsler at 314-442-3894 or [email protected].