Ron Johnson Has Consistently Opposed An Increase In The Minimum Wage

As Senate Democrats prepare to introduce legislation that would raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour over the next several years, vulnerable Republican incumbents like Ron Johnson will face serious problems defending their previous votes against a minimum wage increase.

In addition to voting against commonsense increases in the minimum wage, Johnson has gone a step further, saying it was “disturbing” that Senators were pushing for an increase. He even called a minimum wage increase “Russian roulette for the working poor,” and said that “when you’re a good worker, you don’t stay at minimum wage for long, trust me on that.”

“Ron Johnson has consistently voted against a minimum wage increase that would help working families make ends meet,” said Sadie Weiner, DSCC National Press Secretary. “Men and women who are willing to work hard for a living deserve a livable  wage that doesn’t leave them and their families struggling, and Ron Johnson is going to have a hard time defending his callous votes and comments against a minimum wage increase.”

BACKGROUND

JOHNSON OPPOSED A MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE THAT WOULD HAVE BENEFITED MORE THAN 580,000 WISCONSIN WORKERS…

2014: Johnson Voted Against Bill To Increase The Federal Minimum Wage To $10.10. [Vote 117, 4/30/14]

• Increasing The Federal Minimum Wage To $10.10 Would Have Meant A Raise For More Than 580,000 Wisconsinites. Increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 would mean a raise for 587,000 Wisconsin workers. [Economic Policy Institute, 12/19/13]

2015: Johnson Voted Against An Increase In The Minimum Wage. [Vote 93, 3/26/15]

…AND HAS EVEN SAID IT WAS “DISTURBING” THAT A MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE WAS BEING ADVOCATED, AND CLAIMED “WHEN YOU’RE A GOOD WORKER YOU DON’T STAY AT MINIMUM WAGE FOR LONG”

Johnson Said It Was “Disturbing” That Senators Were Pushing For A Higher Minimum Wage. “It is disturbing that Democrats in the Senate keep pushing for a higher minimum wage even after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that will lead to as many as a million people losing their jobs. Read the recent report. It clearly states that raising the minimum wage would mean more income for some people now earning less than $10.10 but a terrible price for others.” [Office of Sen. Ron Johnson, In the News: Blog,4/30/14]

• Johnson Called Raising The Minimum Wage “Russian Roulette For The Working Poor.” “Raising the minimum wage isn’t a solution – it is a trade-off. […] So it’s not as simple as ‘giving America a raise.’ It’s more like Russian roulette for the working poor: About 16.5 million of them will get a raise, minus the higher prices they’ll pay because stores and restaurants will have higher labor costs. But 500,000 of them will see their pay will fall 100%. It’s a game of chance they didn’t ask for.” [Office of Sen. Ron Johnson, In the News: Blog, 4/30/14]

Johnson: “When You’re A Good Worker You Don’t Stay At Minimum Wage For Long. Trust Me On That.” JOHNSON: “Bottom line: when you’re a good worker you don’t stay at minimum wage for long. Trust me on that. (Crowd laughs) It’s not universal. It’s not universal, but trust me as an employer, as an employer I certainly didn’t want to lose good employees. And so you actually have a better marketplace. And so if your employer is not paying you good wages and you’re a good worker, you go look for other places. Now that’s hard to do, that’s hard to do when we have such high levels of unemployment. But again I would get back to we don’t have a very attractive place for business investment.” [The Uptake, 12/11/11] (VIDEO)

*Similar releases have been sent targeting Republican Senators in New Hampshire, North Carolina, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania*