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The Fight for 15 campaign gained its latest victory on Tuesday after the Washington, D.C. Council unanimously passed a US$15 minimum wage.
The measure would bump up the current US$10.50 wage to US$11.50 in July and then raise it by 70 cents every year until it reaches US$15 in 2020. It would then automatically adjust to inflation. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser pledged to sign it into law.
The federal district has one of the highest poverty rates in the country. About 22 percent of its population, which is half Black, lives under the poverty line. It also has the highest rates of food stamp use in the country.
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Low-Wage Workers Struggles are About Much More Than Wages
The Fight for 15 movement started in 2013 with McDonald’s workers in New York City and has steadily gained momentum. California, New York, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles have already passed legislation raising the hourly minimum to US$15, and Silicon Valley will vote on a proposal on Thursday. Twenty states, including neighboring Virginia, still pay their workers less than half, which is the federal minimum.
D.C. organizers, though, are not satisfied with the measure. Tipped workers still earn a base pay of US$5 — up from US$2.77 — though the district would pay the difference if they do not raise the minimum wage with tips.
Organizers also told the Washington Post that the next fight will be paid leave.
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