For a minimum wage of $15 an hour for all !

The State and its principal allies, the bosses, seek to maintain workers in conditions of poverty by keeping their wages low. The number of households that sink 80% of their salaries into rent has increased by 26% in only 5 years, and more than 220,000 households must commit at least 50% of their wages to have a roof over their heads. In Montreal, we’re talking about 365,000 people, 208,800 of which are women, who work for minimum wage. The ultimate slap in the face for these workers is when they find themselves on workers’ comp at 55% of their salary. And that’s if they even qualify for it.

Workers are pushed more and more towards minimum wage work, and because of this, towards debt. It’s in the bosses’ interest for people to continually work more, sometimes with two jobs, at lower pay, all because it means more profits for them.

What’s more is that this has the effect of tiring and isolating workers, all the while limiting their opportunities to rebel. That’s the real effect of trying to make ends meet.

Those working for minimum wage are the most vulnerable of the working class. To better their immediate conditions fundamentally implies going against the interests of the bosses, and as such is a step towards a more just society; an anti-capitalist society. These demands show the workers that they have the capacity to advance and win through the power of their unity. One must not forget that “the history of all societies has always been a history of class war.” (Karl Marx)

Let us prevent the workers from folding under the weight of capitalism! Let us demand and fight for a minimum wage of $15.00 an hour for all!