Mayor Muriel Bowser has already indicated that she would sign the legislation when it crosses her desk.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers in the nation's capital have approved a $15-an-hour minimum wage, joining California, New York state and numerous other cities in mandating pay raises for retail, restaurant and service-industry workers.
www.wusa9.com/...
This action comes on the heals of action in 2013-14 to create annual raises in DC:
Under the new law, the minimum wage is slated to increase by $1.00 on July 1 each year through 2016, capping at $11.50 per hour.
Beginning July 1, 2017, the District’s minimum wage will increase annually in proportion to the annual average increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in the Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area for the preceding 12 months.
does.dc.gov/...
The vote marked a victory for local and national unions, which targeted the nation’s capital more than a year ago for a symbolic victory in the “Fight for $15” campaign.
www.washingtonpost.com/...
Unfortunately, the ridiculous minimum wage for tipped restaurant workers, now stuck at $2.77 (pdf) will only rise to $5 dollars.
But to assuage the District’s powerful restaurant-industry lobby, D.C. lawmakers have demanded that tipped workers’ pay rise by a smaller amount.
Tipped workers’ base rate would increase from $2.77 an hour to $5 an hour and would be tied to inflation. Employers in the District would also remain responsible for paying employees the difference between their base pay and minimum wage if tips do not make up the balance.
www.washingtonpost.com/...
It is absurd that the DC Council and Mayor Bowser continue to let the restaurant lobby dictate wage policy in DC. It is even more so in light of how strongly Democratic the District of Columbia is.
DC went 92% to Obama in 2008 and 90% in 2012. Clinton’s victory in DC will be similar. Are the Councilors and Mayor afraid of losing their seats because they believe the voters will support the position of the restaurant lobby? Come on.
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We need to also continue to take action to raise the minimum wage nationally.
Luckily we have a great leader as the Democratic Nominee for President. The DC action is exactly the type of action that Secretary Clinton has campaigned on.
When Hillary is elected President — and if we work hard enough to take back the House and Senate — we can take the next step and finally raise the Federal Minimum wage — after 20 years of inaction and Republican obstruction.
Could we take it further, and help working people far into the future by setting a minimum wage that keeps up with the cost of living, as DC has?
Currently, the federal minimum wage is not tied to inflation; the only way it goes up is if Congress manages to overcome persistent gridlock and agrees to an increase. Though raising the minimum wage is exceedingly popular among the American public, Congress has only voted for one increase in the past two decades.
As a result, inflation has eaten into its purchasing power. For example, had the 1968 floor of $1.60 per hour been indexed to inflation, it would be $10.90 per hour today, more than 50 percent higher than the current minimum wage of $7.25.
thinkprogress.org/...
If we take back the House and Senate, that will be all the mandate that I hope we will (feel we) need to begin to enact progressive policies nationwide. Massive Republican failure in states like Kansas serve as the perfect example to show all voters the very real differences between Republican and Democratic economic policy and how each has affected out country.
Hillary Clinton on the minimum wage:
Raising the minimum wage and strengthening overtime rules.
Hillary believes we are long overdue in raising the minimum wage. She has supported raising the federal minimum wage to $12, and believes that we should go further than the federal minimum through state and local efforts, and workers organizing and bargaining for higher wages, such as the Fight for 15 and recent efforts in Los Angeles and New York to raise their minimum wage to $15. She also supports the Obama administration’s expansion of overtime rules to millions more workers.
Please follow this link to learn more about Hillary Clinton’s economic plans:
www.hillaryclinton.com/…
And please follow this link to donate to Hillary Clinton’s campaign:
www.hillaryclinton.com/...