Memo: NSEA Supports Assembly Bill 456 Raising the Minimum Wage

Every day, our members work with students and in communities that struggle with issues related to poverty. Research shows that poverty is a leading indicator of predicting student opportunity and success. Many of our members go above and beyond to address impacts of poverty that our students struggle with in the classroom and at the school site. However, with students who are dealing with unstable or substandard housing, lack of access to nutritious food at home, parents working multiple jobs and not being able to provide support with schoolwork, the challenges are many. We know that the best way to level the playing field for these students is to address the root causes of poverty.

Raising the minimum wage up to $12/hour is a strong and smart step that we can take to address the issues of students and families living in poverty and to set minimum labor standards

Meanwhile, NSEA remains committed to the struggle to ensure a living wage for our members.

Most education support professionals across our state earn less than a living wage.

Bus drivers, nutrition workers, and custodians engage with our students every day. Many are the backbone of our school sites. Unfortunately, a large percentage of these public workers face the same life issues as low-wage workers working in private sectors like the fast food industry— having to working multiple jobs or making the difficult decisions on which bills to pay. While not directly impacted, increasing the state’s minimum wage for private sector workers will have a positive effect on our members at the lowest rungs of the pay scale.