Teen Observer Archive

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

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has begun its

SafeTrack project, an undertaking that has raised much discontent among Washington, D.C. residents.

“The early closures are kind of annoying,” said Elizabeth Moyer, 23. “The Metro used to be a really reliable way to get home if you stayed out past midnight, but now it’s not. And that’s really unfortunate, and kind of dangerous too for people who live in the city.”

Nevertheless, while close to half of those interviewed stated that they found SafeTrack to be an inconvenience, they also noted that they considered it a necessary one.

“It’s hard. I feel like it’s unfortunate that they had to choose a time now to inconvenience citizens of the region, but it’s probably something that’s necessary given all of the problems they’ve been having, and the fires and other issues they’ve been having,” said 59-year-old Raymond McGhee.

“It has to be fixed, and I guess it’s a necessary evil.”

The primary aim of SafeTrack is to carry out technical renovations on all six of the system’s Metro lines through the use of relatively minor measures such as early weekend closures and more intensive “Safety Surges,” extended periods of focused repairs on specific lines that last from as little as one week to as long as six. The Metro is currently undergoing its third of 15 intended surges, an effort that has impacted both the yellow and blue lines and which will continue through to July 11, according to a plan released in May by the WMATA.

The first few Safety Surges, in combination with the newly implemented maintenance measures, have been responsible for increased delays and temporary line closures across the Washington metropolitan area, causing many interviewees to voice dissatisfaction over the project and only two of the 10 to express enthusiasm.

While some individuals criticized the administration for their failure to properly maintain the Metrorail system, McGhee took a different standpoint on the matter.

“I don’t want to kick them while they’re down,” he said. “This is an embarrassing set of circumstances, but it’s clear that the management and the Metro in the past hasn’t done well.”

In addition to the SafeTrack project, individuals also shared other criticisms that they had of the district’s public transit system. A few individuals expressed concerns over the price of Metro and bus fare, stating that they considered it to be too expensive.

Scott Wheeler, 46, who was visiting from Dallas with his family of four, said that he at times found it cheaper for his family to call an Uber than to take the Metro.

“We definitely make a decision on if we should go hop on the Metro based upon the price,” Wheeler said.

Colin Rice, 28, shared similar concerns, stating, “I think the Metro’s a little expensive. I used to work out in Rockville and I would drive instead of take the Metro because gas was cheaper.”

Nevertheless, half of those interviewed considered the prices to be relatively reasonable, voicing other grievances such as issues with communication, overcrowding and a need for a greater police presence.

When asked for their overall opinion of the District’s current state of public transportation, however, five of the 10 individuals expressed praise, two said it was satisfactory but could still be improved, and only three voiced a strong sense of dissatisfaction.

“I love it,” said Jennie Ganz, 50, “I love the bus, and I think it’s excellent. The drivers are very safe and they’re very friendly and courteous, and I think it’s perfect.”