Category: 2016

Following states like California and New York, the Washington D.C. City Council unanimously decided to boost minimum wage for workers to $15 last month.

Mayor Muriel E. Bowser pledged to lift the pay for those being paid minimum wage by 2020, according to the Mayor’s Office. This month, Washington D.C.’s minimum wage is scheduled to raise a dollar from $10.50 to $11.50.

Now with the council’s approval this past June, Washington D.C.’s minimum wage will rise by 70 cents each year starting this upcoming year, until it reaches the agreed $15 in 2020. After 2020 the minimum wage will then be left to rise or decline annually, automatically and in accordance with inflation.

In the midst of the biggest pay gap between the lower and upper class of Washington D.C., and the high cost of living in the district, the council’s decision is highly appealing to those workers who rely on multiple low paying jobs to keep food on the table.

But as minimum wages rise, many workers are unsettled about how this will affect their lives in the long run.

Brandon Scott, a general manager at the fast food chain Jimmy John’s, expressed his concern in the overall effects this raise can do to the district. “When minimum wage goes up, everything goes up,” Scott said. “Prices will go up, everything will increase.”

When asked about how the bill will affect Jimmy John’s and it’s employees, Scott said, “Some hours might be cut, it all depends.”

Other laborers however, feel no worry about the raising minimum wage.

Noah Marcus, a front desk worker at Sport & Health and student, who admitted to being paid minimum wage does not share Scott’s worries.

About the decision to raise minimum wage to $15 by 2020, Marcus said, “That’s awesome. It’s good for kids my age. There’s a lot of youth in the work force.”

Marcus also shared his thoughts on current elections paying attention to minimum wage workers, “It’s good that the candidates see it as a relevant issue. It keeps kids interested in politics.”

Marcus pointed out the advantages for students earning more money at the minimum, and was genuinely excited about having more money to create more opportunities for himself. Many youth in the workforce rely on their wages to provide for their education and living expenses.

I need to work more to pay for school so I can get an education but I can’t get an education if I work more

— jack daniels (@ijackyyou) July 8, 2016

According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were over 15 million workers between the ages of 16 to 24 in 2015, and over 2 million of them were paid minimum wage or in some cases even less.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has also released that “large numbers of high school and college students search for or take summer jobs.” But with University of California Berkeley’s research on minimum wage concluding that “if a student has no aid and wants to graduate debt-free from one of the public universities in the Bay Area, they’d need to work anywhere from 24-48 hours a day, everyday of the week,” students in the work force are pulling on the short end of the straw.

California and New York are signing legislation for an increase in minimum wage to $15 an hour, similar to that of D.C.’s. NPR interviewed multiple sources on how the implementation would affect their lives.

WASHINGTON – A unanimous Washington D.C. City Council vote raised the minimum wage to $15. Gradually the wage will increase until it reaches $15 in the year 2020, but as of July 2016, it raised to $11.50 an hour.

“I think it [the minimum wage increase] will have a positive impact because living cost has spiked,” Whole Foods employee Haddy Gaye said. “It will be beneficial to people working on the lower end of the scale who still have bills to pay that originally surpassed their wage.”

The national minimum wage is set at around $7.25 per hour, however almost all state governments, such as Florida who pays $8.05 an hour, regulate their own. The Democratic Party added the $15 minimum wage to their platform recently according to the Fight for $15 Foundation.

Former democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders supported a federal minimum wage at $15, but called for immediate action. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton also stated that she would support a $15 federal minimum wage, but at a more gradual pace than what Sanders was asking.

Washington D.C. is a city associated with a high living cost. According to the Washington Post, the average resident needs to make $108,092 a year to reside comfortably in D.C. With a higher minimum wage, it would be a possibility that more people will have a larger yearly income allowing for a more comfortable living.

“Cheat Sheet then determined how much a household would need to earn a year in order to live ‘comfortably,” the Washington Post reported.

“The report used $75,000 as the ‘magic salary number’ based on a 2010 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study indicating that someone’s day-to-day emotional well-being doesn’t increase after a household income hits the $75,000 threshold. Cheat Sheet then adjusted that income level up or down using a cost-of-living calculator and comparing each city to Phoenix.”

“I think it will have a positive impact because living cost has spiked,” Gaye said. “It will be beneficial to people working on the lower end of the scale who still have bills to pay that originally surpassed their wage.”

Washington D.C. is said to have one of the biggest pay gaps among classes meaning that there is a large separation between how much the higher class makes compared to the low one. The new minimum wage may be a factor towards a decrease in this gap, however it may drive a wedge between minimum wage paying businesses and the government. So, the effect of this new legislation had to do with what class a citizen is in.

“I was getting $10.50 an hour,” Robeks Fresh Juices and Smoothies employee Leroy said. “The increase in minimum wage makes me feel good because I can save up for my car and help out my family.”

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) states that the minimum wage increase will increase wages for over 114,000 people if implemented, which is about one-fifth of the D.C. private-sector workers.The EPI research also stated that this would not necessarily apply to teenage workers. Mostly, it would affect adult minimum wage employees. All of the affected employees are going to be age 20 and above. “Teenagers are a mere 2.5 percent of the workers who would get a raise,” EPI reported.

“I had a minimum wage job in high school at a hair salon, but I didn’t have bills so it was okay,” American Valet Dry Cleaning Employee Amanda Corvelli said. “Then, I got a car so my paycheck was gone and I had no money [as a teenager].”

Organizations such as the Fight for $15 rallied for the legislation in Seattle, San Francisco, and Washington D.C., as well as other cities, to promote their beliefs on the issue. The official Fight for $15 mission statement is “There’s work to do before every worker gets $15 an hour and a union – but together, I know that we will win.”

“I think it’s [the national movement] a positive impact because their is such a large gap between the $8 [minimum] in Florida and the $15 here in D.C.,” Gaye said. “I don’t think the living cost gap is that extreme between the states. But, I think it would be beneficial to have it equal across the board for all states.”

D.C. City Council made a unanimous decision to raise the minimum wage to $15, with D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser pledging to sign the measure into law in June. The step forward marked a huge triumph for unions, whose campaign to “Fight for $15” had been targeting the nation’s capital. 

The movement, which began as an effort from fast-food and other minimum wage workers, has quickly progressed into a new labor standard. States such as California and New York have already agreed to implement a $15 minimum wage gradually, with Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey following along as well.

A minimum wage increase has received strong support from polls, especially since Americans have become increasingly discontent due to the decrease of well-paying manufacturing jobs and the increase of low-paying labor and service jobs. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Washington D.C. already has the highest minimum wage in the country.

“When I see how much it costs to live in Washington D.C. – and that cost is only going up – we know that it takes more money for every household to be able to afford to live,”  Bowser said to the Washington Post.

Elise Gould, a researcher for the Economic Policy Institute, gave a testimony at a public hearing before the Council of the D.C. Committee on Business, Consumer, and Regulatory Affairs in May. “Raising the city’s minimum wage to $15 per hour would raise wages for 114,000 working people – about 14 percent of all D.C. workers,” Gould said at the hearing.

Allie Goldsmith is one of these employees. A 19-year-old American University student, Allie works at a coffee shop on her campus. The minimum wage increase will directly benefit Allie, who has already felt the effects.

“I’ve seen my wage go up. I make $12.50 now,” said Allie. “It’s something that I’m really thankful for.” When asked about the impact it will have on D.C., Allie said, “I don’t know, inflation is a big thing. I think it will make the job market more competitive.” As a student, she is more than aware of the cost of living in D.C. “I think it’s necessary that if price of living is going to rise, salary should as well,” said Allie.

The Fair Shot Minimum Wage Amendment Act was signed by Mayor Bowser two weeks ago, but the increase will not be immediate. According to the act, the goal is to “progressively increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020, beginning in 2021 to increase the minimum wage during each successive year pursuant to the Consumer Price Index”. It will amend Living Wage Act of 2006.

The DC City Council voted unanimously to lift the minimum wage, planning for the future after 2020 when the minimum wage should be raised to $15, and the years leading up to it.

“As of July 1, 2017, the minimum wage required to be paid to any employee by any employer in the District of Columbia, shall be $12.50 an hour” the legislation reads (B21-0712). There will be a steady increase of wages in the years following until 2020, when the minimum wage will be “$15.00 per hour.”

Afterwards, “beginning on July 1, 2021, and no later than July 1 of each successive year, the minimum wage… shall be increased in proportion to the annual average increase” in the Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Residents of DC have a majority who agree with the minimum wage increase: “I love it!” says Jackie, a cashier at a convenience store in DC. “The cost of living in DC is high. People need [a higher minimum wage] to survive.”

Cost of living is an issue that will be affected by minimum wage; the majority who agree with the $15 increased wage believe that by raising the DC minimum wage, it will make it easier for those in DC on minimum wage to be able to support themselves in an area with one of the highest costs of living in the country.

A professor at American University agreed, “The minimum wage should be raised. People need to pay their rent.” It is also simply not a matter of economics, agrees the professor, but “about human dignity.”

Another opinion is given in a telephone interview with Tony Howard, the Loudoun County of Virginia’s CEO of the Chamber of Commerce. He states, “It [the minimum wage increase] has to increase the cost of living… it will have an upward pressure.”
He justified by discussing how the increase will not just have an effect on minimum wage workers, but on those who are above them on the pay grade.

“The guy paid $13 before with the new $15 minimum wage will say ‘Hey, that’s not enough, I need $17.’” Tony discussed the effect the plan would have on DC’s cost of living, “… the percentage of those who are above [the minimum wage] and those who are paid minimum wage will determine it [the effect on cost of living]… It will be proportionate.”

There are others that are affected by the rise in minimum wage, most directly a business’ ability to actually pay it. According to the Former CEO of McDonalds in an interview conducted by Fox Business, the $15 minimum wage is a “Job Killer.” In other words, the raised minimum wage will put pressure on businesses.

Businesses have a fixed pool of money from their profits which is for workers, and it is logical to believe that if each worker gets more money than before, the pool cannot give the same amount of people the new amount of money, which means loss of jobs.

The Former CEO of McDonald’s stated that “small businesses will be crucified” with the new rules that pertain to the higher minimum wage.

CEO Tony Howard agreed. “Employers will have to find a way to cut costs, or increase costs on the consumers.” Tony explains that the diversity of responses between big and small businesses is because of “Margins”.

An example he gave is between Starbucks and an independent, small cafe in the state of Virginia, his home state. Starbucks can afford to buy more coffee beans than the small cafe because it has a more diverse market, and can thusly charge less on their drinks than the small businesses, who cannot market as extensively as a massive chain; this is the essence of the business margins.

“They [businesses] need to make ends meet,” he said. “DC will see that prices will rise or people will lose their jobs.”

On the other hand, according to one who is directly affected by the newly changing minimum wage movement, Jackie the cashier has a different outtake. “It’ll give more to businesses, with more people looking for jobs to pay what they need.” She continued, “they’d be more willing to do certain jobs.”

DC is not the only place to have considered raising their minimum wage. According to the Washington Post, California and New York are already in the process of increasing their minimum wage to $15 as well.

The $15 movement even reached DC through an organized group from New York, who is demonstrated in the picture at the beginning of this article. Their campaigns in DC inspired a similar rally with DC residents leading the way.

The $15 movement has grown to a national level, and the differences between states are growing more apparent.

DC’s current minimum wage is the highest in the country, however California and Massachusetts is a close second, according to the Department of Labor, as of January of 2016. Many of the numbers have been updated including DC’s, which as of July 1 is now $11.50.

States that are known for their industrialization and higher population areas (cities for example) seem to be on the higher end of the bar graph, such as Maryland who has almost 6 million people according to the latest Census, Washington with about 7 million people, and Michigan state with almost 10 million people.

Those who have lower populated cities, such as Mississippi who has about 3 million people according to the latest Census, Alabama at around 4.9 million, and Louisiana at around 4.7 million, are on the lower end of the bar graph as well.

In Washington, D.C., the D.C. council came to a decision in early June 2016 to change minimum wage to $15. This will be fully applied within the next 4 years. Many unions who had campaigned for the “Fight for 15” are excited about the action being taken to help more minimum waged workers while others continue oppose the idea. The implication of this law would increase minimum wage in D.C from $11.50 to $15.

Washington, D.C., is a city with one of the greatest gaps between the rich and the poor in the United States. The richest 5% of D.C. make $473,000 a year while the poorest 20% make a $9,100 income, according to DCentric.org. There is a very high cost of living due to expensive food, housing, transit and taxes making one of the most expensive cities to live in, in America.

D.C isn’t the first to agree to the change. The state of California has previously signed a legislation in April 2016 to gradually start a $15 minimum wages. As well as New York in April and Seattle in May 2014.

There are many movements throughout the United States in the hopes of having more and more areas with a minimum wage of $15. These include 15 Now, the Fight for $15 and Raise Minimum Wage, among others. This change has some pros and some cons.

Data from netflix-78213.silk.co

This is a video created by Forbes in order to show pros and cons on what will happen when minimum wage is changed. The effects it may have on companies and workers are shown.

Many D.C residents had varying thoughts on the new change. Diego, a minimum wage worker from Whole Foods who declined to give his last name, thinks that any extra money would be beneficial but he still had concerns. “It will be good as long as the cost of living doesn’t increase at the same time,” he said. As D.C. already has one of the highest living costs, the possibility of the increasing prices of necessities scares many workers.

Justin, a worker at Best Buy who declined to give his last name, shared the same fear and concern. “There is a lot of poverty in this city and the majority of workers here at Best Buy can’t even afford to live in the nice neighborhood we work in,” he said.

The worker from Best Buy also brought up the unease amongst many workers about what the companies will do next. “We don’t know if if the companies will relocate but if they do many people will have a hard time trying support their families with less jobs available.”

Many companies like Dunkin’ Donuts and Popeyes are also worried about the effects this may have. As Forbes, an economic magazine, explained, the companies are going to need to make changes in order to continue making a profit. This change will affect big companies but the greatest effect will be on the small businesses.  Forbes explains how there may be less working hours, relocation of jobs, less job opportunities and increased prices.

DC Councilmember Bonds is a strong supporter of the $15 minimum wage. Bonds stated, “the increase will allow many struggling families the needed income for basic necessities such as housing and food costs.”

Since the change in minimum wage no companies have shared with the council their plans on leaving DC. The one concern Bonds has is that citizens from Maryland and Virginia will take the jobs of DC residents. This may be a concern but Bonds is currently aware of this and will try to make sure this does not happen.

“Even though we work hard, we’re forced to live in poverty,“ the Fight For $15 website said.  Almost 15 percent of people in the U.S. are in poverty, while almost 20 percent of people in DC are, according to talkpoverty.org and USA Today. 

Many people are protesting because they do not believe that they are being paid a living wage and that they will be once they are receiving $15 an hour. Extra money can make a huge impact on a family struggling to make ends meat. Ruben, a worker at Whole Foods, said “I need to take care of my family and this would make a really big difference.”

“Once the minimum wage reaches $15, the average affected worker would earn roughly $2,900 more each year than she does today,” was stated by Elise Gould a researcher at the Economic Policy Institute.

No one knows the exact effects of this minimum wage increase because it hasn’t been fully implemented anywhere. There are many pros and many cons on the matter making it a highly controversial topic. D.C is a region who have recently agreed while many other stated and cities are currently discussing the possibility of this expanding further.

D.C. City Council approved of $15 minimum wage hourly pay last month. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, D.C. will raise the minimum wage in the year 2020.

The Washington Post stated that supporters believe that the pay raise is necessary to decrease the pay gap between the higher class and lower class citizens. D.C. happens to have the largest pay gap in the country, according to recent federal data.

The National Conference of State Legislatures showed that D.C. currently has the highest minimum wage in the country.

Supporters also believe the pay raise is important because the cost of living is so high and it is continuously increasing. Mayor Bowser said, “When I see how much it costs to live in Washington, D.C. — and that cost is only going up — we know that it takes more money for every household to be able to afford to live”

As a result of the pay raise in D.C., other states, such as New York and California, agreed to issue the $15 minimum wage. Other states are taking similar measures as well to raise minimum wage.

When asked about the $15 movement, Adam Levi, Multi Branch Sr. Relationship Banker, said, “there are upsides and downsides and more things to consider as well.”

The pay raise will affect many things in the government and in businesses. Many people that oppose the raise do not like the fact that many businesses will have to fire workers in order to stay open and pay their workers more money. Job availability will go down in the future.

However, many supporters believe that the current minimum wage does not keep up with inflation. An increase to $15 an hour will allow minimum wage workers to have “a standard of living commensurate with the current economy.”

Levi supports the pay raise, believing that “it will help a lot of people out because the minimum wage as of now isn’t ideal for people who are struggling and in debt.” He believes it is necessary to increase the pay.

Levi addressed some downsides to the pay raise as well. When asked about job availability and job decrease, “I could see jobs decrease happening and that businesses will probably have to lay off people, which is unfortunate.”

The Mayor of DC, Muriel Bowser, is in favor of the pay increase and said in a statement, “At the State of the District Address, I announced that we would take up the fight for $15 in the District of Columbia to give more Washingtonians a fair shot at economic opportunity.”

As of now, presidential candidates, Clinton, Sanders, and Trump are all in support of the federal minimum wage increasing as well.

Five years ago, a $15 minimum wage was considered too radical. But when people see the justice of an idea, it catches fire very quickly.

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 9, 2016