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There was some good news yesterday in the Fight for $15. The New York State Department of Labor wage board recommended $15 hourly pay for fast-food workers statewide.
In related news, thousands of federal contract workers walked off the job yesterday in Washington, D.C., demanding a $15 federal minimum wage and the right to form a union.
Momentum is building in the Fight for $15. The cities of Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco have already enacted a $15 minimum wage for workers in those cities.
In addition, over the next 18 months, several states and more than a dozen cities will consider similar proposals.
A fact sheet from the National Employment Law Project (NELP) about the issue can be found here.
Meanwile, the Economic Policy Institute notes that the federal minimum wage has not been raised since 2009. “In the absence of action at the national level,” EPI says, “many states and localities have raised their own minimum wages.”
EPI has a map on its website that visitors can explore to see how these rapidly changing laws differ across the country. Click here to visit the site and to read EPI’s recent research explaining the benefits of raising the minimum wage.