Friend,

President Biden and congressional Democrats want a COVID relief package that addresses the true economic damage done by the pandemic, and that sets us on better economic footing for generations to come—including raising the federal minimum to $15 an hour.
 
But, on Monday, President Biden met with 10 Republican Senators who are proposing their own, much smaller COVID relief package—just one-third the size of President Biden’s proposal—which excludes critical provisions and omits the much-needed boost to the minimum wage.[1]
 
This is not a time to pull back the reins on economic stimulus and pandemic relief. Let’s use the momentum we have to raise the federal minimum wage—which has remained stagnant at $7.25 an hour since 2009.
 
Too often, people brush aside the importance of a higher minimum wage due in part to the misconception that it’s just teens in their first jobs making minimum wage.
 
Here’s the reality:
This infographic makes clear that contrary to what some believe, nearly 3 in 10 minimum wage earners have children; minimum wage earners average 35 years old; and more than half are front line and essential workers.
 
The Raise the Wage Act of 2021, introduced in the U.S. House and Senate last week, would gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. EPI research shows that raising the minimum wage would lift the pay of nearly 32 million workers across the country—21% of the U.S. workforce!
 
Donate to EPI today to help bring this infographic to millions of people and make the case to Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

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We cannot simply “return to normal.” We need our recovery efforts to provide economic security for everyone. For millions of workers, that begins with raising the minimum wage.
 
Eve Tahmincioglu
Director of Communications, Economic Policy Institute
  
[1] https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/01/politics/stimulus-plans-biden-gop-comparison/index.html
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