Last week, Rauner vetoed a bill that would have required the state’s hourly minimum wage to rise from $8.25 to $15 over five years.<\/b>
\nA few thousand union members commemorated Labor Day on Monday with marches, rallies and vows to oust the Republican governor who shot down a $15 minimum wage hike.
There were speeches outside the State of Illinois building in Chicago, marches in Pilsen and downtown, and a slew of events that drew the attention or attendance of several of the Democratic candidates who want a shot at ousting Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Outside the American Hospital Association headquarters, 155 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago\u2019s hospital workers railed against Rauner\u2019s policies as \u201crigged in favor of the rich, \u201d as SEIU Healthcare Illinois president Greg Kelly put it.
\u201cIt\u2019s rigged in favor of people like our governor, Bruce Rauner, who uses his office to attack working families \u2014 yeah, boo on that, \u201d Kelly said in response to the jeers.
Mimi Merinda, a housekeeper of almost seven years at Holy Cross Hospital in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood, addressed the governor directly for vetoing a bill to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2022.
\u201cYou vetoed our ability to put a little more food on our table, you vetoed my family\u2019s ability to make ends meet, so next November, I want you to know we\u2019 re going to veto you, \u201d Merinda said.
That prompted some of the loudest cheering from the crowds on nearby Randolph street.
A large crowd cheers on Randolph Street. | Lauren FitzPatrick\/Sun-Times
Merinda said she\u2019s up at 4: 45 a.m. each morning to get to work on time, and she\u2019s paid much less than the $15 she and the others are fighting for. She and other housekeepers are trying to organize under SEIU Healthcare Illinois.
\u201cA person can\u2019 t survive on that kind of wages, especially when they\u2019 ve dedicated their life to work to help other people, \u201d Merinda said, joined on stage by the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and union members from across the city and country. \u201cWe all give 100 percent to the hospital but they don\u2019 t give it back. We need hospital workers across the city to demand to be paid what we\u2019 re worth.\u201d
Last week Rauner vetoed a bill that would have required the state\u2019s hourly minimum wage to rise from $8.25 to $15 over five years. The pro-business governor, who has been no friend to unions, said such a hike would \u201churt the very individuals it seeks to help\u201d by shrinking the number of available jobs.
Rauner, who attended a morning Labor Day parade in Kankakee County, wouldn\u2019 t field questions from reporters at the African Festival of the Arts in Chicago\u2019s Washington Park. A spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Several of Monday\u2019s participating unions are part of an investment group that bought the Chicago Sun-Times.<\/p>\n

\n

Similarity rank: 13.7<\/div>\n

Sentiment rank: 0.4<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

TW posts: 16<\/div>\n

TW reposts: 0<\/div>\n

TW likes: 0<\/div>\n

TW sentiment: 10<\/div>\n<\/div>\n