Pass a $15 Minimum Wage in the First 100 Days

The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 and $2.13 for tipped workers. It’s too low to afford rent, much less support a family, and keeps millions of workers stuck in poverty.

The solution to low pay is clear. By raising the minimum wage to $15, we can benefit nearly 40 million Americans1 — predominantly women and workers of color — while reducing the racial wealth gap and giving millions of essential workers who put their lives on the line every day a permanent raise.2,3

For years, workers across the country and across industries have bravely stood up to demand better. Their organizing and actions for $15 an hour won widespread support, with 2 in 3 Americans across the political spectrum in support of a raise. In response, the U.S. House passed the Raise the Wage Act of 2019 that would have increased wages to $15 for more than a fifth of all U.S. workers, but the Republican-controlled Senate refused to take up the bill.

As the pandemic makes economic uncertainty more dire across the country, and our essential healthcare, food-service, and retail workers continue to struggle, we must take bold action NOW.

1 https://www.epi.org/publication/raising-the-federal-minimum-wage-to-15-by-2024-would-lift-pay-for-nearly-40-million-workers/
2 https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-covid-19-hazard-continues-but-the-hazard-pay-does-not-why-americas-frontline-workers-need-a-raise/
3 https://www.nelp.org/wp-content/uploads/Policy-Brief-15-Minimum-Wage-Women-Workers-of-Color.pdf