|
For more than a decade, the federal minimum wage has not budged from $7.25 an hour.
The Raise the Wage Act, introduced in the House Tuesday, would gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, narrowing racial and gender pay gaps and strengthening the economic well-being of this country’s lowest-paid workers.
Here’s the Act’s upshot:
- Raises the minimum wage to $9.50 this year.
- Then raises it in steps annually to $15 by 2025.
- After that, adjusts the wage to keep pace with the growth of typical worker pay.
- Phases out the tipped-worker wage (frozen at $2.13 since 1991)—so that all workers must be paid at least the regular minimum wage.
Who will benefit?
- 32 million workers—or 21% of the U.S. workforce.
- Year-round workers, who will see $3,300 added to their annual income.
- Women, who make up the majority of minimum wage earners.
- People of color, who make up a disproportionate share of low-wage workers.
- 60% of workers living in poverty.
- Communities, thanks to workers having $107 billion more to spend.
It’s past time to raise the federal minimum wage.
|
