January 29, 2018

Local 400 and Allies Call on Virginia Legislators to Expand Medicaid, Increase Minimum Wage

On Jan. 24, UFCW Local 400 and allies called on Virginia legislators to expand Medicaid and increase the state’s minimum wage to $15. Participants at the rally also called on state legislators to provide access to driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants working in Virginia.

The rally, which took place in Richmond, was organized by Take Action Virginia, an alliance of organizations that includes UFCW Local 400, as well as 32BJ SEIU, SEIU Virginia 512, CASA in Action, LiUNA! Mid-Atlantic, NAKASEC Action Fund, UNITE HERE Local 23, and UNITE HERE Local 25. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, Senators Scott Surovell and Rosalyn Dance, and Delegates Jennifer Boysko and Marcus Simon also attended the rally.

“The federal minimum wage has been frozen for nearly 10 years,” said UFCW Local 400 President Mark Federici. “We have a president who has never had to work a day in his life – but somehow thinks $7.25 an hour is too high – and a Republican-controlled Congress that is only interested in giving tax breaks to the wealthiest few. It’s up Virginia lawmakers to do the right thing and boost the wage floor for hard-working men and women, like so many other states and local municipalities have done.”