ABQ Living Wage Update

From ACORN NM:
As of this past Monday, 7,300 petition signatures in support of an October ballot initiative that would to raise the minimum wage to $7.50 per hour have been approved by City Clerk's office. The petition needs the signatures of almost 14,000 registered city voters to get on the ballot. Supporters recently turned in more than 33,000 signatures.

As reported by local news outlets, there are allegations that a worker contracted by ACORN to collect petition signatures did so fraudulently. ACORN is not disputing the allegation. Henderson said Tuesday that he does not expect that the elimination of the signatures collected by that worker will effect the ability of the initiative to earn a spot on the October ballot.

The Campaign also announced it will hold a press conference at 11 AM on Monday, Aug. 1, on the northwest corner of Civic Plaza. If the signature count is completed and the petition is validated by Monday, the press conference will celebrate that victory. If the count is not done by then, the press conference will be used to defend the integrity of the petition process, which also involved churches, many individuals, and other organizations in support of the wage hike in addition to the approximately 75 persons hired by ACORN.

For more information call ACORN at  242-7411.