The movement to increase the federal minimum wage is gaining momentum. President Obama has championed the idea. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is joining the wave.
The minimum wage in New York state was raised in January to $8.00 an hour, 75 cents more than the federal minimum wage. Gillibrand points out $7.25 an hour is below the poverty line.
"If you're a mom with two kids you are earning $3,000 below the poverty line. Which means your kids are at risk of not getting enough food, not getting the resources they need to thrive. And that's a problem," Gillibrand said.
Fast food workers seeking to increase their pay to $15 an hour held strikes in several cities across the country last week. In April, Republicans in the Senate filibustered a bill to raise the minimum wage.
Gillibrand says not paying people a living wage is un-American.
"We've always believed if you work hard you will get ahead, you will make it to the middle class. Well it's not true if you're working 40 hours a week and you're still in poverty."
She says despite what opponents say, most minimum-wage earners are adults not teenagers or students.