How the Raise the Wage Act would benefit U.S. workers, their families, and entire communities
Federal lawmakers failed to increase the minimum wage, but US workers made other gains, and they are setting their sights on new goals. But across the country, states and companies have raised wages in the wake of Fight for $15’s efforts.
Today it’s clear that on issue after issue, Sanders’ thunder on the left has carried the day among a majority of Americans, including substantial numbers of Republicans. Conservative attacks on Sanders-style proposals are increasingly falling flat.
Traditionally, organized labor has backed establishment Democrats even in the face of diminishing returns. But when it comes to a $15 minimum wage, Democrats should not expect unionists and their allies on the front lines to “dance and be happy.”
The CBO finds that the raise would boost the incomes of 17 million Americans, and most probably 27 million Americans—that is, close to a fifth of the entire American workforce.
Sanders, who will oversee the reconciliation process and has voiced skepticism over eliminating the full filibuster, has not offered an opinion on sidestepping a parliamentarian ruling.
People are dying from poverty wages in the richest country in the world,” she said. “The question before us is not can we afford to pay workers more. The question is can we afford not to? Raising the wage to $15 would save lives.”
Since Hispanic women continue to be over-represented in low-wage jobs, policies that lift wages at the bottom will have a significant impact on their wages. A Federal minimum wage increase to $15 would affect nearly one in three Latina workers.
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