He has dedicated his congressional career to preventing the high wage jobs, which the residents of his District desperately need by blocking the development of the Rosemont Copper Mine and other mineral harvesting activities, but on Thursday, Congressman Raúl Grijalva joined striking fast food workers in Tucson and Phoenix as they demanded an increase in the minimum wage.
The strikes, part of a coordinated effort by labor unions in 150 cities across the nation, demanded that employers to raise wages to $15 an hour.
“Today, fast food workers here in Arizona and across the country stand united as they strike for fair compensation, and I am proud to stand by their side,” said Rep. Grijalva. “We are a nation that believes in the dignity of hard work, but too many Americans with full time jobs still struggle to make ends meet. We must raise the minimum wage and pay workers a living wage to ensure the American Dream remains within reach for all who are willing to work for it.”
Grijalva, who represents the people of the 8th poorest metropolitan area in the country, is best known for fighting the good jobs that the Keystone Pipeline would provide. Perhaps his most notorious job killing act was his call for a boycott of Arizona businesses. That boycott wiped out many of the minimum wage and higher wage jobs in his District. Many of those businesses did not return and the area has been in decline ever since.