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Congress has failed for more than a decade to raise the federal minimum wage. But, with President-elect Joe Biden just weeks away from being sworn into office, we have a renewed opportunity to lift up working people in 2021 and enact policies we have been fighting to achieve for years.

At the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom ([link removed]) , organizers and activists demanded a federal minimum wage of $2―which, in inflation-adjusted terms, is almost $15 an hour today.

Organizing efforts such as the “Fight for $15” have led to many minimum wage increases at the state and local levels. But the current $7.25 federal minimum wage stands at less than half of that 57-year-old goal.

EPI is powering our progressive movement for economic change with the research and data to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. Can you make a year-end, tax-deductible donation to EPI today to fight for transformative economic change? ([link removed])

Change does not come overnight. To effectively fight for progressive economic change, like increasing the minimum wage and strengthening labor unions, we need an unwavering commitment to fact-based, clear-eyed economic research to equip our policy makers and activists with the tools they need to raise the wages of millions of working people. And that is exactly what EPI has been doing since it was founded more than three decades ago in 1986.

Throughout the decades, EPI's critical economic work has also documented the chronic disparity in wage growth in our country which underscores the urgent need to rebuild worker power and boost wage growth for working people. EPI's Lawrence Mishel recently documented ([link removed]) the top 0.1%―the very highest wage earners―saw their annual wages increase by an astounding 345.2%―from $649,725 to nearly $2.9 million between 1979 and 2019, while the bottom 90% saw just an $8,000 increase over that same 40-year period.

EPI is fighting every day for the rights and wages of working people―to build an economy for our future where everyone has a fair shot.

This research and analysis would not be possible without the support of thousands of people like you. Can you make a year-end contribution to EPI to jump start our efforts in 2021? ([link removed])

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We will need Congress and the new Biden-Harris administration to enact a range of policies next year to help people navigate this recession. Raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2025 is an essential piece of what we need to help workers provide for their families. Thank you for all you do to fight for an economy that works for all of us, not just the wealthy few.

John Schmitt
Vice President, Economic Policy Institute
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