A coalition of New York state lawmakers, workers and advocates launched a “Living Wage for All” campaign on Tuesday, January 27, introducing a package of bills they say would raise the statewide minimum wage and eliminate every subminimum wage still permitted under state law. The group announced the campaign and the legislation at a press conference and rally at the State Capitol in Albany, according to the campaign.

The campaign framed the effort around affordability, arguing that the state’s cost-of-living debate must address paychecks as well as expenses. In its advisory for the launch, the NY Living Wage for All campaign said affordability “must address paychecks AND cost of living,” casting higher base wages as central to that argument rather than a separate concern.

According to the campaign, the legislative package would raise New York’s minimum wage statewide and end all of the state’s subminimum wages — the lower base rates that, under current rules, can be paid to certain categories of workers. The campaign has tied the subminimum-wage provisions to tipped restaurant workers and to workers with disabilities, and the launch drew support from disability rights, immigrant rights, racial justice, women’s rights, labor and community organizations.