AFSCME Members Bus to DC "Raise the Wage" Rally, Hear Ruben Jones' Plea

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Maryland AFSCME Council 3 members bused down to DC last Thursday to meet up with the “Give America a Raise” bus tour, sponsored by Americans United for Change, AFL-CIO and a coalition of allies. The rally at the U.S. Capitol concluded a tour that started March 24 and made 18 stops in 10 states over two weeks, calling upon Americans to support raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, which would raise the wages of 28 million hardworking Americans. Ruben Jones of Largo, MD, who makes $8 working at two Golden Corral locations in the Washington, D.C., area told the rally that he's worked for the company over the past five years without seeing a raise and once missed the train home after working late, walked in the rain from Washington to Largo, and then got up the next day, exhausted, and returned to work. "To be treated like this, it's a shame, it's a shame," Jones said. "Please, raise the minimum wage. We all need it. We all need it." Click here to hear Jones and read the report on the AFL-CIO Now blog and to see more AFSCME 3 photos.