FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, August 23, 2004

Urges People to Call on Governor to Veto Minimum Wage Increase Bill

(Sacramento, CA) — The Consumer Alliance for a Strong Economy (CASE) has begun airing a new television commercial in Sacramento urging people to call Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and ask that he veto AB 2832 (Lieber) that would increase California’s minimum wage to $7.75 per hour by 2006.

The legislation is expected to soon land on the Governor’s desk, and the advertisement asks that people call a toll free phone number to express opposition to the proposed increase in the minimum wage. The advertisement features a local small business owner who states that he may have to lay people off if the minimum wage were to increase.

Said CASE Executive Director Chris Wysocki, “We felt it was important to have people hear from a real small business owner the harmful effects of increasing the minimum wage.” The advertisement is scheduled to run throughout the remainder of the Olympics. “To have the most people see the ad meant we had to go up on the Olympics, so that is exactly what we did,” Wysocki added.

The commercial can be found on the Consumer Alliance for a Strong Economy at www.ConsumerAlliance.org. CASE is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest educational corporation comprised of over 9,000 members from across California. For more information, please call Chris Wysocki at (916) 444-1502 or e-mail info@www2.consumeralliance.org.