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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.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

If wages go up, do fast-food prices have to go up too?

Nov 15, 2023
In California, the minimum wage is rising to $20 an hour. Could execs, stockholders and franchisees share the costs?
The price of a Big Mac stood at $5.58 in June, according to The Economist's Big Mac index. It was $5.15 a year earlier. But workers have a beef.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

California's $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers is actually a compromise

Oct 2, 2023
Despite one of the highest minimum wages in the country for fast-food workers, fast-food companies still clocked some wins.
California has enacted legislation that will bump fast-food workers’ pay to a minimum of $20 an hour starting next year.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

In California, one county is forcing restaurants to pay wage theft claims or risk losing their permits

Sep 7, 2023
Santa Clara County is helping regulators deal with businesses that cheat workers out of wages but fail to settle that debt.
Melissa Sanchez with the Fair Workplace Collaborative speaks with a restaurant manager. Sanchez is part of an outreach effort to inform small businesses about Santa Clara County’s food permit enforcement program.
Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED

Minimum wage gets a mini increase in some states

Jul 7, 2023
The federal minimum wage has been the same since 2009: $7.25 an hour.
Wage increases, even small ones, can be very impactful for low wage workers dealing with inflation.
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NYC sets minimum wage for app-based delivery drivers

Jun 13, 2023
The workers currently earn $7 an hour on average. Starting in July, they'll make nearly $18 an hour before tips.
Starting in July, app delivery workers in New York City will make nearly $18 an hour before tips.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Keeping up with cat-flation and the rising minimum wage

Feb 14, 2023
The entrepreneur behind a Florida cat cafe hopes 2023 brings reduced costs and many more adoptions.
The costs of cat care supplies have increased, and the owner of a cat cafe in Florida is looking for alternatives.
Andrew Burton/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

With salaries rising, how much do minimum wage increases matter?

Jan 4, 2023
Private-sector wages are up about 5% over the past year. But gains guaranteed by government can't be lost during an economic downturn.
Workers in low-wage sectors like fast food have gained higher pay in the hot job market.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

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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How inflation cuts into the value of the federal minimum wage

Jul 18, 2022
The federal minimum wage has been changed since 2009, when Congress raised it from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour.
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