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.