Students support minimum wage hike

To the editor:

Another legislative session has ended and the needs of students, workers and communities were ignored by those who claim to represent us.

I have lived in Iowa my whole life and am a college student. In my lifetime our paltry minimum wage has plummeted relative to inflation and basic living costs. Most of my classmates and I work in addition to being full-time students. Because low-wage work doesn't come close to offsetting skyrocketing tuition, we are faced with oppressive student debt that will stick with many of us for decades.

Our minimum wage leaves many struggling to afford food or pay rent and traps our communities in a vicious cycle of poverty. Knowing we can't count on Congress or the state legislature, people across the county, state and country are standing up en masse, demanding $15 an hour and the right to unionize for all workers. Though not fix-alls, these would be huge steps toward an economy structured to work for the 99 percent.

Many youth and students are joining this fight for the long haul as we organize to build the economy and world we want to live in - that we need to thrive in - starting here at home. As Dr. Cornel West eloquently puts it, 'justice is what love looks like in public,” and until we have at least $15 and a union, we aren't lovin' it.

Eli Shepherd

Iowa City