Nome Living Wage For All Alliance

08/02/2026

Nome Residents:

As our application was approved by the city, we have been trying to collect signatures on our petition.

The cost of living in our community is a serious challenge, impacting all of us. That's why we're asking for your support for establishing a Living Wage for All in Nome.

Did you know that a dual-income household with two children here in Nome needs each adult to earn 28.23/hour, and a single parent needs 41.08/hour, just to cover basic costs? And for Alaska Native residents, the poverty rate is more than five times higher than for white residents.

The good news is that change is possible. The regional hospital already pays $25/hour, and Alaska voters have shown strong support for higher minimum wages. We have a real opportunity to make Nome a more affordable place to live.

If we collect enough signatures and make it on the ballot this fall, and the measure passes, Nome would have the highest minimum wage in state. Our group thinks this would be a catalyst for other communities to create their own change!

Here are some details from our ordinance about issues that have been brought up in comments on previous posts. I am also attaching an infographic that has been posted here before. We are also always open to responding to direct messages! My email is also attached to our Facebook profile.

People wanting to sign the petition:

-MUST be atleast 18 years old
-MUST be registered to vote in the City of Nome

Nome Living Wage For All Alliance is working to ensure that one job is enough to live on. Your signature on our petition can make a significant difference!

06/29/2026

Renee Brown representing Nome Living Wage For All at the conference in DC on Saturday!

Thank you to for giving our coalition the amazing opportunity to speak at this Next250 Mobilization.

As said in Renee's speech, we were certified by the City of Nome to begin collecting signatures. Our group will be continuing to work on outreach in Nome!

As always, feel free to reach out for any questions!

Video credit: https://youtu.be/Q09Bxtw3g2E?feature=shared

05/31/2026

I appreciate all of your thoughts and feedback regarding our campaign. I want to assure you that our group has been working on this campaign behind the scenes, considering various perspectives and the unique needs of our community.

We recognize the complexity of the issues at play, including economic realities and the impact of any proposed changes. It's vital for us to engage in open, respectful discourse about the ideal path forward.

Addressing some concerns:

Small businesses/Non-profits: Higher wage states have higher small business growth. Workers are customers too. If people have money to spend, they spend more locally. Small business/non-profit workers deserve a livable income too. These businesses also would have a longer period to adjust to $25. This isn’t a jump that happens over night, or within a year. It’s a long process.

https://irle.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Small-Businesses-and-the-Minimum-Wage.pdf

Price increases: A study done by Berkeley shows that California’s fast-food wage increase, the biggest sectoral wage hike in U.S history, found that prices increased by only 1.5%.

Thank you for your passion and willingness to discuss these important topics!

As we’ve said before, feel free to reach out here, or to any of the members, if you have questions.

- Kaya Kent, Alora Stasenko, Sara James, Renee Brown, Claire Fagerstrom, Angela Omedelina.

05/31/2026

We hear your concerns and we can guarantee they’ve all been taken into consideration during this proposal. I’m sharing this here because not everyone has access to Instagram. Feel free to reach out to me, or any of the other members directly, as we won’t be responding to individual comments here. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Cost of living in Nome per MIT Calculator: https://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/02180

One Fair Wage Link: https://www.onefairwage.org

Partnered with One Fair Wage

05/31/2026

Thank you KNOM for your coverage!

Voters in Nome may decide this fall whether to nearly double the city's minimum wage. That's after a group of high school students turned in a ballot petition to the city. Renee Brown is a junior at Nome's ANSEP Acceleration Academy. During the school year, she also works as a…