JEFFERSON CITY — Yesterday (12-5), Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, applauded those fast food workers who took to the store fronts and sidewalks in St. Louis and across the nation to protest low wages in an immense one day strike.

“These hardworking men and women are rising up to be beacons in the struggle for a fair wage in this country,” Sen. Nasheed stated. ”I respect the difficult decision each of these individuals has made to make such a nation-wide protest happen. The non-violent protest is one of the greatest weapons of change, and these individuals came armed to the teeth for this fight.”

The senator continued, “With the legislation I have prefiled, Senate Bill 531, I believe that we can make a difference in the existences of today’s minimum wage earners.”

Prefiled earlier this year, SB 531 would require the minimum wage in Missouri to increase, from $7.35 to $10.00 per hour as of Jan. 1, 2015, if voters in the Show-Me State approve the statute.

The senator went on to say, “Increasing the minimum wage will enable these workers to stand on their own two feet and reduce dependence on the millions of dollars provided to them in the form of state and federal assistance.”

To view this or any of Sen. Nasheed’s legislation, or statements on other topics, please visit her Missouri Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov/nasheed.