“That $15 minimum wage no longer seems so far out of reach, not even for those workers still stuck at the Illinois state minimum of $8.25 an hour.
At some point in the not so distant future, it will happen.”
More available here.
“The Cook County Board voted Wednesday to gradually raise the minimum wage to $13 by July 2020, following the legislation’s approval Tuesday by the board’s Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee.
The move, which comes more than a year after Chicago implemented the first phase of a minimum wage increase, adds Cook County to the growing list of government bodies seeking to help lift people out of poverty by raising the wages of the lowest-paid workers.”
More available here
It is no secret that there is a steep pay gap between women and men. Everyday, women earn less than men for similar work.
New work from the Economic Policy Institute shows that on average, women earn $.82 for each dollar that men make. This disparity varies based on different ethnic groups, with African-American and Hispanic women earn $.65 and $.58 for every dollar white men make.
To counter this, EPI has proposed an agenda that would help to eliminate the wage gap, which includes a higher minimum wage, an elimination of the tipped minimum wage and more. The agenda can be found here.
“During two recent Senate debates, two GOP candidates, Rob Portman (Ohio) and Ron Johnson (Wisconsin) both broke with their previous opposition to raising the minimum wage (or in the case of Sen. Johnson, even having a minimum wage), and made it clear during their debates that it’s absolutely time to raise the federal minimum wage.”
More available here.
“The ink wasn’t even dry on the wage legislation when the dire warnings of economic collapse began. Unemployment would skyrocket, economic growth in the state would be hurt, restaurants and small businesses would close en masse. The deserved punishment would be swift and harsh.
But a funny thing happened on Seattle’s way to economic collapse: the city thrived. Restaurants didn’t close — they actually prospered — and new restaurant openings rose. Unemployment fell, most recently to less than 4 percent, more than a full percentage point lower than the national rate. By all accounts, the city on the Puget Sound is booming.”
More available here: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-10-21/doomsayers-keep-getting-it-wrong-on-higher-minimum-wages