13 Days to Go: We Need to Raise Minimum Wage

With just thirteen days until the primary, I am using each day to discuss an issue I have highlighted on the campaign trail. For Day 13, I am highlighting the need to raise the minimum wage to make life more affordable for families.

Here’s a not-so-fun fact about New Hampshire: Our minimum wage is still tied to the federal minimum wage.

The federal minimum wage hasn’t budged in years (it’s only $7.25 an hour!), which means New Hampshire’s minimum wage is still… $7.25 an hour.

It costs $8.50 to do a load of laundry in the big machine on Route 1 in Hampton, so it’s safe to say that we need to raise the minimum wage if we want people to be able to afford to live here.

Carleigh on picket lines supporting workers rights!

People should make enough money so they have the time to sit around the table with the people they love, give back to their communities, run for office, and participate in local government.

But that’s not possible when only making $7.25 an hour. If we want people to make more money, we need to stand with workers organizing for fair pay, fair schedules, and the right to bargain.

As a union organizer, I fought to form UAW Local 5118, a union of graduate student workers demanding fair pay, paid leave, transparent scheduling, and anti-retaliation policies. We went on strike twice before securing our first contract.

I’ve also joined the picket line with members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1837 to support them in their fight for a fair contract, and stood in solidarity with Starbucks workers fighting for the benefits they deserve.

Walking the picket line in the dead of winter and standing shoulder to shoulder with workers has taught me a lesson that I’ll bring to the halls of Congress: Every worker deserves a union.

That’s why I’ll proudly sign on to the PRO Act and fight to restore collective bargaining rights to 1.5 million federal workers hurt by Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE disaster.

We are standing up not only for ourselves, but for every worker who’s been told to do more with less, to accept unsafe conditions, or to stay quiet in the face of retaliation. Thanks for standing with them.