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15 years later, the federal minimum wage is still $7.25 an hour

Jul 24, 2024
It's the longest stretch of time Congress has gone without raising the federal minimum wage.
The federal minimum wage has the lowest purchasing power since 1949. Above, Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks on raising the federal minimum wage in 2023.
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Does the federal minimum wage still matter?

Jun 25, 2024
The federal floor is $7.25 an hour — but only around 1% of workers are paid that little. Several states and cities will hike their minimums July 1.
David McNew/Getty Images

More than 20 states ring in the new year with a higher minimum wage

Jan 1, 2024
The highest state minimum wages as of Jan. 1, 2024 will be Washington state at $16.28 and California at $16. But is that really enough to live on?
 A nationwide livable wage would be close to $25 an hour, says Amy Glasmeier, a professor of economic geography at MIT.
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SEIU’s Mary Kay Henry on the Fight for $15’s 10-year anniversary

Nov 28, 2022
“What gives me hope is something that seemed impossible in 2012 is now very possible,” Henry told Marketplace.
Signs sit in a pile during a 2016 protest in Chicago, where demonstrators demanded a $15 minimum hourly wage.
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Many states and cities to raise minimum wage in the New Year

Dec 24, 2021
Will employers notice? Many are already raising wages for their workers because of the labor crunch.
Even without jurisdictions raising the minimum wage, some employers are upping pay anyway to remain competitive in a tight labor market. Above, activists rally for a $15 an hour minimum wage.
Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images

Could the federal minimum wage vary by the regional cost of living?

Apr 29, 2021
A listener writes: "If you make the minimum wage $15/hour, it’s not enough in New York and it’s way too much in Peoria. Would it be possible to tie the minimum wage to the cost of living?"
Many Democrats back a $15 hourly federal minimum wage. That can buy you different things in different parts of the country.
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What a $15-per-hour federal minimum wage could do

Feb 22, 2021
Raising the minimum from $7.25 to $15 per hour is part of the American Rescue Act, now making its way through Congress.
The bump up to a $15 hourly minimum wage would make a big difference for people of color in particular.
Jeff Curry/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Biden takes a step toward $15 federal minimum wage

Jan 22, 2021
This is a fraught time to tackle minimum wage increases. It would address long-term inequities but more businesses are in trouble now.
President Joe Biden signs an executive order as Vice President Kamala Harris looks on during an event on the economic crisis Friday.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Minimum wage increases for workers in more than 20 states this year

Jan 1, 2021
This year especially, voters are sympathetic to minimum wage workers on the front lines during a pandemic, an economist says.
McDonald's restaurant employees rally for a $15 per hour wage in 2016 in Los Angeles, California.
David McNew/Getty Images

House to vote on raising the federal minimum wage

Jul 18, 2019
It would be the first increase at the federal level since 2009, but Senate Republicans aren't likely to consider the bill.
Workers strike in Los Angeles, California for a minimum wage of $15/hour in 2016.
David McNew/Getty Images