Employees from throughout the state rallied outside of Sen. John Hickenlooper’s office Tuesday, demanding his support for raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Protestors are asking Hickenlooper to publicly support the Raise the Wage Act, which would increase federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025. This would raise wages for nearly 500,000 Coloradans, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Cody Jab is a home care worker of seven years, a member of Colorado Care Workers Unite and one of the hundreds of thousands of Coloradans who makes less than $15 an hour.

“Despite being on the front lines of this pandemic, no matter how many shifts I put in it’s a constant struggle to make ends meet,” Jab said. “We need Senator Hickenlooper to respect Colorado’s care workers, invest in Medicaid and pass a $15 minimum wage now.”

Nationally, more than 50% of the 32 million workers who earn less than $15 an hour are front-line essential workers in the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to low wages, front-line workers have also struggled with a lack of personal protective equipment, training, hazard pay and paid sick leave.

“State employees have kept our communities safe and healthy during the pandemic. But our response is complicated by years of budget cuts that thinned staff, depleted equipment and created unsafe working conditions,” said Skip Miller, a state employee and president of Colorado WINS.

In Denver, janitorial workers have been hit particularly hard during the pandemic, facing low wages, increased workload and cut hours. Denver janitors have held two rallies since December, fighting for increased hours and wages.

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Much of Denver’s janitorial staff are part of immigrant and Latino communities which have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

“We need Senator Hickenlooper to commit to opposing Republican attempts to deny COVID relief to families of mixed immigration status, and joining Senator Bennet in the fight for a $15 an hour federal minimum wage,” said Yuliana Guerrero, a Denver janitor of six years and member of SEIU Local 105.

Hickenlooper is one of the most prominent Colorado politicians who has not publicly supported the Raise the Wage Act.

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet and Reps. Jason Crow, Diana DeGette, Joe Neguse and Ed Perlmutter cosponsored the Raise the Wage Act, S 53 and HR 603.