Rev. Al Sharpton is throwing his support behind the campaign to increase the state’s minimum wage.

Sharpton was joined by elected officials, labor leaders and several likely mayoral candidates at his National Action Network headquarters in Harlem Saturday.

They called on the state Senate to pass a bill that increases the minimum wage to $9 per hour.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said the City Council is planning on passing a resolution this week urging the Senate to act.

Advocates [including advocates from Make the Road New York] said that when New York leads, the country follows.

“We’ve got to raise the minimum wage. And uplifting the working poor will also have the effect of expanding the middle class,” said City Comptroller John Liu. “It’s an economic policy that must be passed and must be passed now.”

“We’ve not had a raise in minimum wage in this state in several years,” Sharpton said. “The president has called for it nationally. New York State should set the model. We have declared this today ground zero for the national minimum wage fight.”

The Assembly has already passed a bill raising the minimum wage to $9 per hour, with increases tied to inflation.

The current state minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.

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