Congress has failed for more than a decade to raise the federal minimum wage

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Friend,

In 1963, the minimum wage varied by industry between $1 and $1.25 per hour, (there was no minimum wage at all for agriculture, nursing homes, restaurants, and other service industries that disproportionately employed Black workers.) The March on Washington’s demands were for a $2 national minimum wage “that will give all Americans a decent standard of living.”

Congress ultimately expanded the minimum wage to some of the previously excluded sectors―and raised the minimum wage to $1.40 in 1967 and, again, to $1.60 in 1968.

Check out and share this new EPI chart ([link removed]) , which shows how, adjusted for inflation, the wages fought for during the historic 1963 March on Washington would be close to $15 today:
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While organizing efforts such as the “Fight for 15” have led to many minimum wage increases at the state and local level, the current $7.25 federal minimum wage is a poverty wage.

As the dark blue line in the chart above shows, if the minimum wage had been raised to $2 in 1963, with future increases tied to the cost of living, the minimum wage this year would be $14.79, more than twice its current value of $7.25.

Raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2025 will restore bargaining power to workers during the recovery from the pandemic. Not only would boosting the minimum wage help household finances, it would directly boost the broader economy by creating disposable income for millions of working families throughout our country.

EPI is powering our movement for progressive economic change, fighting for a $15 minimum wage. If you value EPI’s critical research, please consider a donation today. ([link removed])

Year after year, EPI’s economists produce chart-filled reports that highlight inequalities in our economy. We need this critical work now more than ever to guide policy makers and activists as we fight for the rights and wages of all working people.

Thank you,

Eve Tahmincioglu
Director of Communications, Economic Policy Institute
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