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KRYZAN STATEMENT ON FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE

July 24, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Anne Wadsworth
(716) 580-3013

Amherst, NY – Today the federal minimum wage will increase to $6.55 per hour, the second of three annual increases approved by Congress in 2007.   The final increase will bring the new minimum wage to $7.25 per hour by summer of 2009.

While today’s increase will provide some relief it won’t be enough to counter increases in inflation, gas prices and the cost of food.  According to the Department of Labor, inflation is up 5 percent for June compared with the same time last year, while energy costs rose nearly 25 percent and the price of food is up more than 5 percent.

Having heard first hand from voters about their economic anxiety, Alice Kryzan, democratic congressional candidate for New York’s 26th, had this to say:

"This latest increase in the federal minimum wage will help provide some economic security to the working families of Western New York, but it isn’t enough to bring economic success back to the region.

As economists, business leaders, and environmental activists across the country recognize, alternative energy is the industry of the future. By making the 26th district a hub for this new technology, we can position ourselves to benefit from its growth.  We can envision a future that goes beyond economic security to one that realizes economic success.

I want to position Western New York at the forefront of the alternative energy industry, creating stable, good-paying green collar jobs for working men and women across the region. That’s why I strongly support increased investment in clean renewable energy industries, which could bring at least 50,000 new good-paying jobs to the state. Western New York is particularly well suited to become a leader in this area, which will bring research dollars to our colleges and universities, manufacturing jobs to our towns, and economic benefits to rural and urban areas alike."

Next week Alice will join environmental supporters for an announcement of economic as well as environmental significance.

Alice Kryzan is a mother, environmental attorney and community volunteer who has lived and worked in Western New York for thirty years.

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Paid for and Authorized by Kryzan for Congress