Barbara Boxer: “When Senator Shaheen was a Governor she stood up for the people, and as a Senator she certainly fights for her people.…”

“When Senator Shaheen was a Governor she stood up for the people, and as a Senator she certainly fights for her people. Part of this fight involves making sure that when you work hard and you work full time you don't have to live in poverty. It just isn't fair. Remember most of the people on the minimum wage are adults. They are not children. They are not teenagers. They are adults. So many of them are trying to raise their children in jobs at the minimum wage level, and you don't have to be a mathematician to know that the current minimum wage leaves you in poverty. So you have a full-time job, you work your heart out, and you wind up in poverty. I went back into my little memory books, and I found my son's first paycheck when he was working his way through school. He went to a supermarket to work as a checkout clerk. He came into a store called Lucky Stores. They were a union store, so he joined the union. Do you know what that young man made in those years? In 1986, 28 years ago--it is right here--it was $7.41 an hour. Imagine. So he was so proud he could work hard. When he came home, he was able to help pay for his tuition and his books. We are talking about a minimum wage that is $10.10 an hour. Here is this young man working as an entry level checkout clerk at a supermarket in 1986 making over $7 an hour. This minimum wage has got to be raised. We have the chart.…”