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At a federal level: Raise the Wage Act of 2021

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At a federal level: Raise the Wage Act of 2021

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This legislation was introduced in January 2021 and would increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. Among other things, proponents of the Raise the Wage Act of 2021 state that the minimum wage of $15 per hour would close the income gap for minorities, stimulate more spending, and decrease the need for assistance programs. This PDF is included on Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell's website.

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Raising Wages NC is a coalition of organizations and businesses who are working together to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour in North Carolina in the next five years. Some organizations or businesses in their coalition include Durham Living Wage Project. On their website they feature an online petition for NC Legislative Leaders that residents can sign. Raising Wages NC claims that the high cost of living in North Carolina must be matched by an increase in wages.

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Too many working people in North Carolina don't get paid enough to afford the basics. At a time when productivity and profits are at an all time high, wages are at an all time low.

Everyone needs a good paycheck and opportunities to prosper. We need more jobs that pay enough to afford the basics-put food on the table, gas in the car, a roof over our heads, childcare for our kids, and enough to save for retirement.

Bigger paychecks also mean higher sales and bigger profits for local businesses-creating a virtuous cycle that helps businesses hire more people, boost the economy, and provide the tax revenue to invest in our schools, roads, a great quality of life for our community.

Together, we are a broad, diverse group of working people and unions, community organizations, faith leaders, businesses, and policy advocates joined in common cause - we believe that all workers in NC deserve a living wage.

We are joining together across the state to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour in 5 years. There is a national movement rising across the country to raise wages to $15 an hour, and from coast to coast, it has scored big wins in places like Maine, Arkansas, Nebraska, New York, California, and Seattle. Now is the time for North Carolina to take bold action to build upon this momentum and raise the minimum wage in our state.

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Too many working people in North Carolina don't get paid enough to afford the basics. At a time when productivity and profits are at an all time high, wages are at an all time low. We are joining together across the state to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour in 5 years.

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This video produced by PBS Digital Studios discusses the origin of minimum wage in the United States. Several strikes are mentioned as precursors to the establishment of a federal minimum wage. PBS explains how multiple legislative attempts to establish working conditions and wages were deemed unconstitutional and thrown out. In 1938 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into effect the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. It set a cap to the work week and established a minimum wage of 25 cents per hour. The minimum wage has been raised 22 times since the Act was signed into effect. Currently minimum wage is $7.25 per hour and even though states may establish a different rate, employees must be paid the higher of the two rates.

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This comic first appeared in Chicago Labor Newspaper in 1894 and referenced conditions at the Pullman company: a worker is squeezed between low wages and high rent. As mentioned in the video produced by PBS, the Pullman Strike occurred in 1894 when George Pullman instituted layoffs and cut wages by 25%. As eHISTORY at The Ohio State University indicates, this strike was an important moment in history because it highlighted the industrial issues present in the country.

Source:
Pullman strike. eHISTORY. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2021, from https://ehistory.osu.edu/exhibitions/1912/content/pullman.

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In 2009 Kanye West and Adam Levine sang about issues like minimum wage. Part of the lyrics state "And I heard 'em say, nothing's ever promised tomorrow today From the Chi, like Tim it's a harder way So this is in the name of love like Robert say Before you ask me to go get a job today Can I at least get a raise of the minimum wage?" The song expresses multiple racial injustices in the United States, with the suggestion that workers and citizens cannot live on minimum wage.

Source:
KanyeWestVEVO. (2009, June 16). Kanye West - HEARD 'Em Say ft. Adam Levine. YouTube. Retrieved September 17, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elVF7oG0pQs.

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Kanye West - Heard 'Em Say ft. Adam Levine

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Department of Labor: State Minimum Wage Laws (updated August 2021)

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Department of Labor: State Minimum Wage Laws (updated August 2021)

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This DOL website features a map and a breakdown of minimum wage by state. Users can hover over the state to see the current minimum wage and a color coded legend indicates whether the rate is higher than, lower than, or equal to the federal minimum wage. As of July 2021, the District of Columbia had the highest minimum wage: $15.21/hour.

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Arizona
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $14.35
California
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $16.00
Any work in excess of eight hours in one workday, in excess of 40 hours in one workweek, or in the first eight hours worked on the seventh day of work in any one workweek shall be at the rate of one and one-half times the regular rate of pay. Any work in excess of 12 hours in one day or in excess of eight hours on any seventh day of a workweek shall be paid no less than twice the regular rate of pay. California Labor Code section 510. Exceptions apply to an employee working pursuant to an alternative workweek adopted pursuant to applicable Labor Code sections and for time spent commuting. (See Labor Code section 510 for exceptions).

The minimum wage will be adjusted annually based upon a set formula.

Georgia

Applicable to employers of 6 or more employees
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $5.15
The State law excludes from coverage any employment that is subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act when the federal rate is greater than the State rate.
Employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act must pay the current Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
Idaho
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25
Maine
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $14.15
If the highest federal minimum wage is increased in excess of the State minimum wage in effect, then the State minimum wage will increase to the same amount, effective on the same date as the increase in the federal minimum wage.

The minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula.

Michigan

Applicable to employers of 2 or more employees
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $10.33
The State law excludes from coverage any employment that is subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act unless the State wage rate is higher than the federal rate.

The minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula.

Minnesota

Large employer (enterprise with annual revenues of $500,000 or more)
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $10.85
Small employer (enterprise with annual revenues of less than $500,000)
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $8.85
The minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula.

Montana

Businesses with gross annual sales of more than $110,000
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $10.30
Businesses not covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $4.00
A business not covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act whose gross annual sales are $110,000 or less may pay $4.00 per hour. However, if an individual employee is producing or moving goods between states or otherwise covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, that employee must be paid the greater of either the federal minimum wage or Montana's minimum wage.

The minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula.

Nevada

If qualifying health insurance is NOT offered by the employer:
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $11.25
If qualifying health insurance is offered by the employer:
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $10.25
The Nevada minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula. Effective July 1, 2024, there will be a uniform minimum wage of $12.00 per hour for all employees.

New Jersey
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $15.13
The minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula.

There is a minimum wage of $13.73 per hour for seasonal and small employers who employ fewer than 6 people.

New York
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $15.00; $16.00 (New York City, Nassau County, Suffolk County, & Westchester County)
The New York minimum wage equals the federal minimum wage when set below the federal rate.

Under the new hospitality regulations, residential workers ("live-in workers") are now entitled to overtime for hours worked over 40 in a payroll week, instead of the prior 44 hour requirement. Therefore, overtime hours for all non-exempt workers are now any hours worked over 40 in a payroll week.

Employers operating a factory, mercantile establishment, hotel, restaurant, freight/passenger elevator, or theater; or a building employing security guards, janitors, superintendents, managers, engineers, or firemen must provide 24 hours of consecutive rest each week. Domestic workers are entitled to 24 hours of consecutive rest each week, and receive premium pay if they work during such period.

Employees receive 1 hour of pay at minimum wage rate in addition to owed wages when spread of hours exceeds 10 hours, there is a split shift, or both.

Northern Mariana Islands
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25
Ohio

Employers with annual gross receipts of $385,000 or more
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $10.45
Employers with annual gross receipts under $385,000
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25
The minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula

Oklahoma

Employers with ten or more full time employees at any one location or employers with annual gross sales over $100,000 irrespective of number of full time employees.
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25
All other employers
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $2.00
The Oklahoma state minimum wage law does not contain current dollar minimums. Instead the state adopts the federal minimum wage rate by reference.

The State law excludes from coverage any employment that is subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

Oregon
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $14.20 (standard state rate); $15.45 (Portland Metro Area); $13.20 (Non-Urban counties)
Premium pay required after 10 hours a day in nonfarm canneries, driers, or packing plants and in mills, factories or manufacturing establishments (excluding sawmills, planning mills, shingle mills, and logging camps).

The Oregon minimum wage is adjusted annually on July 1 based on a set formula. There is a higher minimum wage in the Portland metro area and a lower minimum wage in non-urban counties. See Minimum wage increase schedule.

Puerto Rico

Applicable to all employees covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) except for agricultural employees and employees of municipalities and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $9.50
The minimum wage will increase to $10.50 per hour on July 1, 2024, unless the Commonwealth issues a decree changing the amount.

Premium Pay After Designated Hours: Daily - 8, Weekly - 40, and on statutory rest day (time-and-a-half). Employees entitled to greater rights or benefits who were hired prior to January 26, 2017 shall maintain said rights or benefits.

Employers covered by the FLSA but who are not subject to the Puerto Rico Minimum Wage Act must pay at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Texas
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25
The State law excludes from coverage any employment that is subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

The Texas State minimum wage law does not contain current dollar minimums. Instead the State adopts the federal minimum wage rate by reference.

Vermont

Applicable to employers of two or more employees
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $13.67
The Vermont minimum wage is automatically replaced with the federal minimum wage rate if it is higher than the State minimum.

Virgin Islands
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $10.50
Premium Pay After Designated Hours ¹: Daily 8; Weekly - 40; Any hours worked on the 6th or 7th consecutive day of work.

Virginia
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $12.00
Washington
Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $16.28
Premium pay not applicable to employees who request compensating time off in lieu of premium pay.

The minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula.

Some states set subminimum rates for minors and/or students or exempt them from coverage or have a training wage for new hires. Some local governments set minimum wage rates higher than their respective state minimum wage. Such differential provisions are not displayed in this table.

The Wage and Hour Division tries to ensure that the information on this page is accurate, but individuals should consult the relevant state labor office for official information.

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Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $14.35 Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $16.00 Any work in excess of eight hours in one workday, in excess of 40 hours in one workweek, or in the first eight hours worked on the seventh day of work in any one workweek shall be at the rate of one and one-half times the regular rate of pay.

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The Durham Living Wage Project believes that a minimum wage of $7.25 does not equate to a living wage. This organization voluntarily certifies businesses who commit to pay their employees $13.35 per hour (or more). By offering a living wage to their employees, Durham Living Wage Project believes that this will help move employees and their families move towards the middle class and out of poverty. Businesses and organizations participating in the voluntary certification include Cocoa Cinnamon, Monuts Donuts, Durham Congregations in Action, among others.

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Click to find answers to frequently asked questions, or for more information, contact us at [email protected] !

Mission

The mission of the Durham Living Wage Project is to support worker livelihoods by urging employers to pay living wages, certifying and publicly recognizing employers, and promoting living wages as a matter of conscience within our community.

Vision

We envision Durham as a livable community where all workers can prosper.

Purpose

We exist to promote a just economy where workers are paid fairly, employers are successful, and our community thrives as a result.

Guiding Principles

We believe that a just economy provides:

Jobs with dignity and living wages

Economic prosperity for individuals, enterprises and communities

Equal opportunity and justice for all people who have been marginalized in our society, with a particular focus on race, class and gender equity

We believe that we can help bring about a more just economy by promoting living wages and by collaborating with partner organizations that seek to:

Reduce barriers to employment

Place marginalized workers in living wage jobs

Provide workers with a broader set of employment benefits and protections

Steering Committee

The Durham Living Wage Project is guided by a Steering Committee comprised of employers, employees, and community members committed to a just and sustainable local economy.

Kevin Griffin: Kevin is the President and CEO of AVANT Group, LLC, a full service staffing and recruiting firm that is also a 3rd party certified sustainable company (B-Corp). The AVANT focus is matching the right candidates with the right positions, at the right times. Paying a living wage is a key component of a good career opportunity, and Mr. Griffin's role is to present that fact to the business community, and to advocate for all companies to raise their standards of pay.

Matt Kopac: Matt's experience blends business, policy and social/environmental justice. As the Sustainable Business & Innovation Manager at Burt's Bees and Vice-President of The Burt's Bees Foundation, Matt champions livelihoods and nature through work on responsible sourcing, sustainable packaging, environmental footprint management and community outreach.

Henry McKoy: Henry is on faculty at North Carolina Central University School of Business where he also serves as Director of Entrepreneurship. He is married with two children. He is interested in ensuring that all individuals live respectable and dignified lives by being paid a fair and livable wage for the work they do.

Brian Nealon: Brian is the Director of Operations at EarthShare NC, a non-profit supporting the conservation movement by building partnerships between corporations and local conservation groups. His past work includes owning a small business and securing employment opportunities for underserved young people.

Candace Rashada: While Candace works as a Program Coordinator at Durham Technical Community College Division of Corporate and Continuing Education, she serves as a community advocate for youth and adults in transition from homelessness, incarceration and abuse. She believes that education and living wages are the cornerstones of stability that transform lives.

Carl Rist: Carl has spent over 20 years at Prosperity Now (formerly CFED) and is currently the Director of Children's Savings and Senior Advisor, Asset Building. Carl is also an active community volunteer and serves on the boards of the Durham People's Alliance, the Self-Help Federal Credit Union and NC Child.

Shannon Ritchie (founder and consultant, Nectar Strategies) is a digital strategist, policy wonk, and social justice advocate. As a consultant and partner, she guides nonprofit organizations, funders, and movements towards more strategic communication to achieve social and policy change. Her research and professional expertise lies at the intersections of data, technology, and digital media. Prior to starting her work with Nectar, she was Director of Digital and Innovation for AJ Fletcher Foundation and founded SpeakUp NC, a project to elevate public discourse using nonprofit leaders' voices. Previously, she co-founded The Vote Against Project and has worked at City Year and Harvard Law School. She completed her undergraduate education at Wake Forest University, where she served as student body president, and received a master's in public policy from Duke's Sanford School. When she takes a break from the laptop, you'll find her drinking copious amounts of coffee around Durham, soaking up sunshine across NC, and enjoying kitchen dance parties with partner Carl and two young children.

Brian Schneiderman: Brian is Director of Commercial Lending at Self-Help.

Gabe Treves-Kagan: Gabe is the Director of Development and Community Impact at the Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU), where he leads the credit union's local community and economic development programs. LCCU works to create a more equitable society; empowering its members by offering ethical financial products and education and its staff by paying a living wage.

Thanks for the support and generous contributions from the following businesses, organizations, and artists:

The PA Fund

Cocoa Cinnamon

Monuts Donuts

Self-Help

Center for Documentary Studies

Durham Congregations in Action

Durham CAN

First Presbyterian Church

KLP Designs

Leslie Cunningham Films

Just Economics

NC Justice Center

The Durham Living Project is an endeavor of The People's Alliance Fund. The DLWP officially launched in early 2015.

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A Living Wage: Good for Business, Good for Workers For employers, paying a living wage can mean lower turnover, a more motivated workforce, and the increased goodwill of the community. For employees, a living wage is an opportunity to move from poverty toward meeting basic needs.

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This tweet includes an infographic published on Statista's website that features data from the OECD from 2020. In the United States, a single person would need to work sixty-one hours per week at $7.25/hour to leave a state of poverty. In Spain, however, a single person with no children would only need to work 25 hours per week at minimum wage to leave a state of poverty.

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In art: Minimum wage machine by artist Blake Fall-Conroy

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In art: Minimum wage machine by artist Blake Fall-Conroy

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This conceptual art piece allows any user to turn a crank. As the user turns the crank the machine releases pennies, and if the user works for one hour, he/she will earn one hour worth of wages that match that state's minimum wage laws. The piece forces the user to consider what his/her work is worth, what it means to work for an hour, etc.

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Custom electronics, change sorter, wood, plexiglas, motor, misc. hardware, pennies.
(approx. 15 x 19 x 72 inches)

The minimum wage machine allows anybody to work for minimum wage. For as long as they turn the crank, the user is paid in pennies as time passes. For example, if minimum wage is $7.25/hour (the current US Federal rate), then the worker is paid one penny every 4.97 seconds. If they stop turning the crank, they stop receiving money. The machine's mechanism and electronics are powered by the hand crank, and pennies are stored in a plexiglas box. The MWM is reprogrammed as minimum wage changes, or for wages in different locations.

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Custom electronics, change sorter, wood, plexiglas, motor, misc. hardware, pennies. (approx. 15 x 19 x 72 inches) The minimum wage machine allows anybody to work for minimum wage. For as long as they turn the crank, the user is paid in pennies as time passes.

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Senator Joseph Manchin III of West Virginia discusses disadvantages of minimum wage

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Senator Joseph Manchin III of West Virginia discusses disadvantages of minimum wage

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Democratic Senator Joseph Manchin III has expressed that he is critically opposed to the Raise the Wage Act of 2021, which would increase the federal minimum wage to $15 by the year 2025. Senator Manchin has expressed that an increase this large would hurt small businesses. Business Insider cites the The Budgetary Effects of the Raise the Wage Act of 2021, a report by the Congressional Budget Office, which states that prices of merchandise would increase and more than one million jobs could be lost due to such a substantial increase in minimum wage. While Senator Manchin is opposed to a federal minimum wage of $15 per hour, Business Insider has stated that he is not completely opposed to a smaller increase in federal minimum wage-perhaps $11 per hour.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders' attempt to include a $15 minimum wage provision in the COVID-19 relief looks likely to fail.

Eight Democrats, including centrist Sen. Joe Manchin, voted against the legislation's inclusion.

250,000 workers in West Virginia, Manchin's home state, could see a raise under a $15 minimum wage.

Sen. Bernie Sanders' attempts to include a $15 minimum wage provision in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill looks likely to fail on Friday in the Senate - with bipartisan opposition.

Last week, Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, the chamber's official advisor on procedural matters, ruled the minimum wage hike could not stay in the massive coronavirus spending bill, arguing the provision's effect on the federal budget was "merely incidental."

Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, two of the party's most moderate Democrats, had both voiced strong opposition to using budget reconciliation - a maneuver that allows the majority party to speed through high-priority fiscal legislation without support from the minority party - to pass the minimum wage hike, and following MacDonough's decision, Manchin doubled down on his refusal to sidestep her ruling.

Still, Sanders and fellow progressives called on Democrats to ignore the parliamentarian's decision and include the provision anyway, which would have required all 50 Democrats' support plus Vice President Kamala Harris's tie-breaking vote.

The proposal was formerly known as the Raise the Wage Act of 2021 and would incrementally increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 by the year 2025.

But Friday's vote revealed that even though Manchin had been the loudest Democratic critic to the increase, he was not the only member of the party to oppose the legislation.

Eight Democrats - Manchin, Sinema, Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Sen. Angus King of Maine, Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, and Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware - joined with all 50 Republicans to vote against the bill's inclusion.

Still, Manchin's passionate and public hostility toward a minimum wage increase has drawn criticism from constituents and activists back home in West Virginia who support the proposed increase.

West Virginia is one of the poorest states in the country

Even before COVID-19, West Virginia had the 6th highest poverty rate in the country, according to US Census Bureau data. An estimated 278,734 West Virginians - 16% of the population - lived in poverty in 2019, according to the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy.

Data from the Economic Policy Institute indicates that a quarter of a million West Virginians, about 14% of the population in the state, would directly benefit from a $15 minimum wage.

Those impacted workers would take home, on average, nearly $4,000 extra dollars each year, the economic policy institute estimated. The total annual wage increase for all affected West Virginia workers would be $987 million annually.

During a February virtual meeting with West Virginia Poor People's Campaign, a progressive group fighting for working-class residents in the state, Manchin reaffirmed his opposition.

Though the meeting was closed to the media, attendees told reporters in an online press conference immediately afterward that Manchin "refused to budge," according to The Guardian.

"I feel like he's got his head in the clouds and he doesn't understand what's happening to poor people in West Virginia," Brianna Griffith, a restaurant worker and rafting guide, told the outlet.

-Poor People's Campaign (@UniteThePoor) February 16, 2021

Manchin says he's worried about how the increase could hurt small businesses

West Virginia's current minimum wage is $8.75 an hour, more than a dollar above the federal minimum wage, but still much less than the $24 that would be in place had the federal minimum wage kept up with productivity growth, according to a report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

But Manchin, along with other moderates and most conservatives, is worried that the incremental increase could end up doing more harm than help.

A Congressional Budget Office report estimated the legislation, if passed, would increase the cumulative budget deficit by $54 billion in the next decade. Prices for goods and services would increase as a result of paying workers more and 1.4 million jobs would be lost, the report said.

But the CBO also estimates the hike would pull 900,000 workers out of poverty and pump $333 billion back into the economy.

Others think the benefits of a hike would far outweigh potential negative impacts

The Economic Policy Institute conducted its own investigation into the possible outcomes of the increase and estimated that raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 would lift pay for nearly 32 million workers across the country - almost 21% of the US workforce.

The raise would be particularly beneficial to people of color and women. Nearly a third of African-Americans and a quarter of Latinos would get a raise if the proposal was employed. Nearly 1 in 4 of those who directly benefited would be Black or Latino women, the study found.

Sanders has been one of the longest and loudest supporters of the increase. Earlier this week, Sanders told reporters that even if Friday's vote failed, he wouldn't give up.

"But let me be very clear: If we fail in this legislation, I will be back. We're going to keep going and, if it takes 10 votes, we're going to raise that minimum wage very shortly."

Manchin has signaled he's willing to compromise on the issue

Manchin has publicly said he would support something "responsible and reasonable" when it comes to raising the federal minimum wage and has proposed a smaller increase of $11 an hour numerous times.

Insider reached out to Sen. Manchin for comment but did not receive a response.

Before the parliamentarian made her final decision, Manchin told reporters he would try to amend the bill to an increase to $11 an hour if she had ruled in favor of its inclusion.

"We can do $11 in two years and be in a better position than they're going to be with $15 in five years," he told CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju last month.

-Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 23, 2021

He argued the more gradual move would allow the party to compromise and successfully pass the stimulus package. But for progressive West Virginians back home, that may not be enough.

"You're just frazzled," Pam Garrison, a member of West Virginia Poor People's Campaign told the Guardian after meeting with Manchin. "If you've never lived in poverty, you have no idea what it does to you."

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Joe Manchin voted against including a $15 minimum wage provision in the relief bill, even though 250,000 West Virginians would benefit from the increase

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Sen. Bernie Sanders' attempt to include a $15 minimum wage provision in the COVID-19 relief looks likely to fail. Eight Democrats, including centrist Sen. Joe Manchin, voted against the legislation's inclusion. 250,000 workers in West Virginia, Manchin's home state, could see a raise under a $15 minimum wage. Sen.

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Pew Research Center: "The U.S. differs from most other countries in how it sets its minimum wage"

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The Pew Research Center published a map in an article published on May 20, 2021, that shows the six ways that countries around the world establish minimum wages. The article explains how in eighty countries or more, national minimum wage laws and policies must be reanalyzed once per year or every other year, but that the United States is not legally required to revise and review its minimum wage policies.

Source:
DeSilver, D. (2021, May 20). The U.S. differs from most other countries in how it sets its minimum wage. Pew Research Center. Retrieved September 18, 2021, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/05/20/the-u-s-differs-from-most-other-countries-in-how-it-sets-its-minimum-wage/.

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The Faces of $15: Consequences of minimum wage hikes

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The Faces of $15: Consequences of minimum wage hikes

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This website has a map of states that have been negatively impacted by minimum wage hikes. The website features interviews with business owners in cities around the country that have been negatively affected by mandatory wage increases. One interviewee explained that although the increase was designed to help employees, she has witnessed how it has hurt entire families and children.

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Unions and activists say the costs of minimum wage hikes are negligible. But the real faces of $15-and of other dramatic hikes in the minimum wage-are the employers who struggle to offset those costs. As these stories show, their actions often mean fewer opportunities for the employees these laws are meant to help.

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Unions and activists say the costs of minimum wage hikes are negligible. But the real faces of $15-and of other dramatic hikes in the minimum wage-are the employers who struggle to offset those costs. As these stories show, their actions often mean fewer opportunities for the employees these laws are meant to help.

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Fox News: Most economists oppose a federal minimum wage of $15/hour

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Fox News: Most economists oppose a federal minimum wage of $15/hour

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This article, written in 2019, is a response to the Raise the Wage Act of 2019, which would have increased federal minimum wage to $15 by the year 2024. Llyod Corter stated that results of a survey conducted by Corter's company, CorCom Inc. showed that raising the federal minimum wage this high would be a poor choice and that most economists have not favored this proposed legislation. Corter cited lower rates of employment for younger workers and referenced a 2014 report from the Congressional Budget Office that estimated that half a million jobs would be lost if the minimum wage was even increased to $10 per hour. Corder cited examples of business owners being affected in New York City and how jobs were eliminated due to an increase. Although Corter has stated multiple times that the majority of economists have been against raising the federal minimum wage, Corder offers an alternative: an increased Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Corter claims that this would be a more effective way to help people out of poverty.

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According to an old saying, if you ask five economists for advice you'll get five different answers. But when it comes to a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage, economists are in near-universal agreement: it's a bad idea.

That's the conclusion of a new survey conducted by CorCom Inc., the company I head. The survey was released this week by the Employment Policies Institute.

The survey coincides with the push by House Democrats to pass the Raise the Wage Act of 2019. The bill would increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour - a more than 100 percent increase - by 2024. The legislation would also raise by more than 600 percent the minimum wage for workers who earn tips, like restaurant servers.
IGNORE AMAZON'S SELF-SERVING CALLS TO RAISE THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE
The current federal minimum wage has been set at $7.25 since 2009. Tipped workers are subject to the same hourly minimum wage through a combination of a base wage and tip income. Census Bureau data show that most earn far more than the minimum.

At a recent congressional hearing before the House Education and Labor Committee on the Raise the Wage Act, committee members heard testimony from a researcher at a labor union-supported think tank who was sympathetic to the social goals of a $15 minimum wage and supported it as policy.

Just 6 percent of economists believe a $15 minimum wage is a very efficient means to reduce poverty. But most economists believe there are better alternatives to a higher minimum wage.

But based on the results of our survey, which includes the perspectives of nearly 200 U.S. economists, this pro-$15 view is held by just a small minority of economics professionals.

Nearly 90 percent of surveyed economists believed an acceptable federal minimum wage should be less than $15 an hour. When asked what level of wage floor they would support, roughly 40 percent endorsed the current federal hourly minimum wage of $7.25 or less. And 66 percent said the minimum wage should be no higher than $10 an hour.

What concerns the economists about a $15-an-hour minimum wage?

Some 84 percent of the economists in our survey said the policy would lower youth employment. And 56 percent believe it would hurt adult job seekers as well.

These concerns are well-founded. In a 2014 report, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reviewed several decades of literature on the minimum wage. It concluded that roughly 500,000 jobs would be lost at even a $10 federal minimum hourly wage.

Cities and states that have raised their wage floor closer to the $15 standard that's now proposed have seen more severe negative impacts.

A 2017 Harvard University study linked the rising minimum wage in the San Francisco Bay Area to a sharp increase in closures of restaurants with an average (3.5-star) rating on Yelp.

Restaurants in New York City are feeling the pinch too. In a recent survey conducted by the New York City Hospitality Alliance, nearly 75 percent of restaurant owners said they are reducing employee hours this year. And 47 percent of the restaurant owners are eliminating jobs.

A higher minimum wage doesn't help a worker who loses his or her job because of the mandated increase.

Our survey results show that just 6 percent of economists believe a $15 minimum wage is a very efficient means to reduce poverty. But most economists believe there are better alternatives to a higher minimum wage.
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In our survey, 64 percent of economists believe an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a better way to help low-income households. By using the tax code to bolster income, the EITC is a more efficient and less-harmful approach to raising overall income for such households.

Economists may not agree on much, but on the question of whether a $15 minimum wage is too extreme for a national standard, the answer is a resounding "yes."

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Most economists oppose the $15-an-hour minimum wage - Here's the stunning reason why

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According to an old saying, if you ask five economists for advice you'll get five different answers. But when it comes to a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage, economists are in near-universal agreement: it's a bad idea. That's the conclusion of a new survey conducted by CorCom Inc., the company I head.

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Harvard study in 2017 on "Survival of the Fittest"

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Harvard study in 2017 on "Survival of the Fittest"

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This study by Luca and Luca examined the closure of restaurants in San Francisco, California, due to an increase in minimum wage. While the results showed that a hike in minimum wage did result in closures of restaurants, the researchers concluded that restaurants with lower ratings (in Yelp) were more likely to be impacted by a higher minimum wage than restaurants with higher ratings. The lower quality restaurants were already closer to exit or failure as a business, even before the wage increase occurred. Luca and Luca suggested that there was the possibility that higher quality restaurants were better able to adjust to an increase in minimum wage, possibly due to hiring more productive staff (Luca & Luca, 2017, p. 18). I have placed this study under the 'neutral' column because while it shows some negative consequences for lower rated restaurants in California, the authors acknowledge that the study showed short-term impact. Also, the authors acknowledge that prior studies have had mixed results on this topic.

Source:
Luca, D. L., & Luca, M. (2017, June 28). Survival of the fittest: The impact of the minimum wage on firm exit. Harvard Business School working paper series # 17-088. Retrieved September 18, 2021, from https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/33111775.

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This project is opposed to focusing on an increase to $15 per hour for federal minimum wage. It has suggested that a better goal is $50,000 careers instead of $15 per hour jobs. According to this project, an entry level wage of $7.25 at a job should be considered more of a training wage as the employee develops skills to move into a career. The project states that there are multiple careers that pay $50,000 per year; they require more than a high school diploma but less than a typical four-year college degree. Future legislation should focus on helping workers attain the education and skills needed to acquire these jobs that pay $50,000. The website states that the Trump administration had been working to provide initiatives for developing job skills, and there is a link to signing a petition to support this leveling in the workforce.

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To get a good job, you need a first job

Fight for $50,000-a-year careers by expanding entry-level training opportunities that provide employees with the skills to earn middle-class incomes.

In contrast, the Fight for a $15 minimum wage reduces job opportunities and cuts off the bottom rung of the career ladder that is needed for employees to quickly climb it.

Raise the wage ceiling by protecting the wage floor

There are currently more than 7 million national job openings, roughly half of which are middle-class jobs that pay approximately $50,000 a year and don't require a bachelor's degree.

Policies should focus on equipping Americans with the skills necessary to shift into these well-paying jobs.

The Fight for $50,000 can provide middle-class careers; the Fight for a $15 minimum wage threatens entry-level job opportunities because many low-margin small businesses cannot absorb its costs and are forced to shed jobs or close altogether.

$50,000 Careers

The Department of Labor projects tens of thousands of job openings, which don't require a bachelor's degree, in each of the following middle-class fields:

Dental Hygenists

$72,500

Electrical Line Installers

$61,500

Police

$60,500

Sales Rep

$59,000

Respitory Therapist

$58,000

Property Managers

$55,500

Occupational Therapist

$55,000

Electricians

$52,000

Computer support technicians

$51,500

Medical and Lab Techs

$51,000

Plumbers and Pipefitters

$50,500

Paralegals and Legal Assistants

$48,810

Mechanics

$48,500

Truck Service Techs

$45,000

HVAC Mechanics

$45,000

Construction Equipment Operators

$44,000

Physical Therapist Assistants

$43,000

Machinists

$42,000

Chefs and Head Cooks

$42,000

Specialty Tradespeople (Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers)

$41,000

Correction Officers

$41,000

Truck Drivers

$40,500

Masonry Workers

$40,000

Autobody Repair

$40,000

Pledge to Support Workforce Development

One of the most frustrating aspects of the current economic boom is the millions of available job opportunities that are not being filled because potential workers don't possess the necessary skillset.

To fill this skills gap, the Trump administration is pursuing workforce development initiatives, but they need your help. Pledge your support to help close the skills gap today!

Join The Fight

Tell your legislator that $50,000 careers are better than $15 jobs

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Fight for $50,000-a-year careers by expanding entry-level training opportunities that provide employees with the skills to earn middle-class incomes. In contrast, the Fight for a $15 minimum wage reduces job opportunities and cuts off the bottom rung of the career ladder that is needed for employees to quickly climb it.

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11 Ways American Workers Are Falling Behind the Rest of the World

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11 Ways American Workers Are Falling Behind the Rest of the World

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This article was written in 2018 by The Century Foundation, which advertises itself as a progressive think tank group that examines different issues within the United States. Through eleven key facts and data sets the authors showed how the United States has not kept up with the rest of the world but stressed that trends could be reversed if the country was willing to accept or enact more policies in line with that of other peer countries (Example: the country has experienced a decline in labor unions and the authors claim that by increasing the amount of employees backed by unions, employees would gain back some power.)

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U.S. employment has grown for thirty-one straight quarters, since late 2010. For only the fifth time in the post-World War II period, the unemployment rate is now below 4 percent. However, the link between low unemployment and wage growth has eroded. Americans' wages have fallen from 64 percent of GDP to 58 percent from 1980 to 2016. Median wages have stagnated for all income levels except the very top, and the American poverty rate is almost the highest in the rich world. The poor income performance for most Americans has reshaped the nation, contributing to middle-class bitterness, a high poverty rate, and a dispirited electorate.

To make clear how poorly the American standard of living has fared, we compare incomes in the United States to those of similarly rich democracies. The analysis, presented in eleven key facts, paints a picture of a nation whose economy is failing its people.

Wages Have Stagnated

1. Real hourly wages have stagnated for middle-income earners, and have fallen for low-income earners, since 1979.

Wages have stagnated across all income groups, including workers as high as the seventieth percentile. Only the income for those at the very top-the ninety-fifth percentile and higher-have risen rapidly. More recently, there has also been virtually no gain in median wages, increasing at a negligible 0.2 percentage point rate from 2016 to 2017.

International Wage Comparisons

2. Growth in average wages in the United States has been lower than those in many other rich countries.

The U.S. GDP has kept pace with international peers, averaging a 1.5 percent growth rate per year since 2000, which is low by historical standards, but is within the median range compared with similarly rich countries. However, while keeping up in terms of GDP growth, the United States has fallen behind, and often to the back of the pack, in terms of wage growth.

As shown in Figure 1, median wages have not grown in the United States. But to compare wage growth internationally, we must use average wage growth due to data limitations, which can be distorted when high-income individuals make far more than the rest of workers. The high average wage growth in Figure 2 in the United States is a product of income growth for high-earning workers. However, even average wage growth in the United States lags behind average wage growth for workers in other countries-countries that have less income inequality. Norway, Denmark, and New Zealand, for example, have seen steady wage growth despite lower GDP growth during this time.

Average wages mask the large and growing population of workers earning low wages. The percent of workers earning two-thirds of the median wage in the United States has risen to nearly 25 percent-nearly one out of four workers-in 2016. This is a steep increase in the percent and sheer number of workers earning low wages. In the 1970s, this figure hovered around 21 percent.

Unlike in the United States, higher minimum wages in Germany, France, Canada, and Luxembourg, strong collective bargaining in Scandinavian countries, and active labor market policies across the board (see Figure 9) have bolstered wages for most workers elsewhere in the rich world.

4. Mid- to low-income workers in the United States earn less of the nation's total income than do workers in other countries.

The declining labor share of income has occurred in many rich countries, but nowhere has it declined as much as it has in the United States. In many rich countries, workers earning below the fortieth percentile level earn anywhere from 19 to 24 percent of total income. In the United States, workers in this range (approximately $50,000 per year and less) earn only 16 percent of the income earned.

5. Another dataset shows that the share of income earned by the bottom 50 percent of earners has dropped significantly since 1990 in the United States.

The bottom half of earners in the United States has declined from 17 percent in 1990 to just above 12 percent in 2014. In other countries, like France and the United Kingdom, the bottom half has actually increased since 1990.

Federal Policies and Spending

6. The United States spends less on social expenditures, as a percent of GDP, than do many other rich countries.

The tabulation below includes Medicare and Medicaid, food stamps, disability insurance, and Social Security, as well as tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit. Increasing dependence on tax credits in the past thirty years have not benefited the poor as much as earlier social programs did (See figure 7 below).

7. The share of total federal spending on the poor in the United States has declined.

From more than 70 percent in the early 1990s, now less than 50 percent of federal spending on SNAP, TANF, EITC, CTC, Medicaid, public housing, and SSI goes to people below the poverty line. This is consistent with our general workfare tendencies, and in line with a Republican push to tie benefits like Medicaid to work requirements.

8. The U.S. poverty rate is high after taxes and transfers when compared to similarly wealthy countries.

The United States does not have the highest poverty rate before taxes and transfers. Government policies in peer nations raise a higher proportion of the poor out of poverty than does the United States.

9. In terms of labor market supports, the United States comes in last.

According to the Council of Economic Advisors in 2016, "labor market policy plays an important role in supporting workers with finding good jobs or acquiring new skills to boost their earnings power." However, there has been a lack of investment in human capital development in the United States, which extends from the public education system to training programs and wage subsidies. For decades the United States has decreased funding for vocational schools and apprenticeships, while touting the value of private colleges. Further, public sector employment is less strong, only recently matching pre-recession public employment levels.

In contrast, a robust vocational system in Germany and Switzerland, and the European Employment Strategy (EES) signed onto by EU countries, continuously aim to improve investment in education and vocational training, as have the European Union's reformed Public Employment Services (PES). These policies that improve skills and labor market matching enhance job creation and also foster the conditions for improved wages and job quality.

10. In 2016, the United States had the lowest minimum wage relative to median wage.

Adjusted for inflation, the current minimum wage in the United States is worth less than it was in 1968, and the federal minimum wage has not been increased from its current amount, $7.25, since 2009. The real minimum wage in the United States, at less than $15,000 per year, is less than that of all selected countries except for South Korea (adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)). If the minimum wage in the United States were to increase even to $10 per hour, the ratio for the United States would be closer to 50 percent of median income, more in line with other rich countries. Increasing the minimum wage would also raise family incomes and reduce poverty.

More than forty localities in the United States-cities and counties-have increased their local minimum wage. But state-based pre-emption laws are on the rise, particularly in Republican states, to ban minimum wage increases at the city, county, and local level.

11. The United States has a smaller percent of total workforce that belongs to a union than all selected countries.

With the percent of U.S. employees covered by unions falling by half from over 20 percent in 1980 to just over 10 percent today, nowhere else within this group of countries has labor been attacked harder. Research clearly demonstrates the importance of labor unions and collective bargaining to support wages and improve working conditions.

America has become a low-wage country, not by accident, but by enacting specific policies, or failing to enact policies (like minimum wage increases), that have allowed U.S. workers to fall behind. With labor market policies more in line with peer nations, many of these trends could be reversed.

Tags: jobs, economy, rediscovering government, high wage america, Wages

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11 Ways American Workers Are Falling Behind the Rest of the World

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U.S. employment has grown for thirty-one straight quarters, since late 2010. For only the fifth time in the post-World War II period, the unemployment rate is now below 4 percent. However, the link between low unemployment and wage growth has eroded. Americans' wages have fallen from 64 percent of GDP to 58 percent from 1980 to 2016.