Workers, Employers, Economists, and Advocates Support the Raise the Wage Act
The Raise the Wage Act of 2023 would gradually raise the minimum wage to $17 by 2028 and give roughly 28 million Americans a long-overdue raise.
WASHINGTON – This week, Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, introduced the Raise the Wage Act of 2023. Here is what workers, employers, economists, and advocates are saying:
Business for a Fair Minimum Wage CEO Holly Sklar: “Stuck at just $7.25 an hour since 2009, the minimum wage is a poverty wage instead of an anti-poverty wage. That’s bad for business as well as for workers. Minimum wage increases don’t stay in workers’ pockets. They boost the consumer spending that drives business and the economy. Fair wages also help businesses hire and retain employees and deliver the reliable product quality and customer service that leads to repeat customers instead of lost customers. Raising the minimum wage will strengthen businesses and our economy.”
Economic Policy Institute (EPI) Senior Economist Ben Zipperer: “EPI’s analysis shows that raising the federal minimum wage to $17 by 2028 would impact 27,858,000 workers across the country, or 19% of the U.S. workforce. The increases would provide an additional $86 billion annually in wages for the country’s lowest-paid workers, with the average affected worker who works year-round receiving an extra $3,100 per year.”
National Employment Law Project President and CEO Rebecca Dixon: “We’re working to build a good-jobs economy, and a minimum wage that’s a living wage is central to that vision. Workers across the country are building their power. They have demanded and won higher state minimum wages and higher wages from corporations and employers across the country. Unfortunately, Congressional inaction on this important issue is still keeping wages too low for too many, particularly Black workers in the South. Those opposed to raising the minimum wage, whether in Congress, state legislatures, or the corporate boardroom, should realize that workers have had enough, and that it’s time for action. All they need to do is look to the ‘summer of the strike’ that we are experiencing to realize that.”
Aaron Seyedian, owner of Well-Paid Maids in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and New York, and a member of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage: “An eroded minimum wage hurts workers, businesses and our economy.We never experienced the worker shortages affecting low-pay businesses. People want to work for us, and our low turnover saves us a lot of money and time.We’ve doubled in size over the last year.Hiring workers who didn’t earn enough in their previous jobs, I’ve seen firsthand how higher wages improve lives and go right back into communities and the economy. Employees repair cars, secure decent housing, buy needed clothes, appliances and school supplies, celebrate occasions at restaurants, enroll children in daycare, and much more. Unfortunately, too many businesses are churning through workers instead of investing in workers. Raising the federal minimum wage to $17 and indexing it in future years will be a vital investment in our economy.”
Camille Moran, owner of 4 Seasons Christmas Tree and Plant Farm in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and a member of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage: “Every year the minimum wage stays stuck at $7.25 is an insult to people trying to make a living. Everyone needs a minimum wage that buys the basics. Local businesses like mine need customers who can afford what we are selling. Under the new legislation, the minimum wage wouldn’t jump overnight. Businesses would have time to gradually raise wages and experience benefits like reduced employee turnover and increased consumer spending. Our nation needs this raise.”
Rebecca Hamilton, co-owner of W.S. Badger Company in Gilsum, New Hampshire, and a member of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage: “Badger has thrived in rural New Hampshire because we’ve invested in our employees. People want to work for us and it shows in everything we produce. New Hampshire’s $7.25 minimum wage is far too low for anyone to live on in our state or anywhere else. It’s bad for business and bad for communities when the minimum wage leaves people working full time in poverty. We welcome the new legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $17.”
Johnny Martinez, co-owner of Joystick Gamebar, By Weight and Measure bar, and Mambo Zombi in Atlanta, Georgia, and a member of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage: “It’s a shame that after 14 years of broken promises, this country still hasn’t raised the federal minimum wage. The cost of living goes up year after year and with no increase in the minimum wage, people keep falling behind. We can’t afford to keep doing nothing. Raising the minimum wage puts money in people’s pockets and that money gets put directly into the economy. A higher minimum wage leads to better customer service, higher sales, and an overall stronger business. Raising the minimum wage is good for small businesses because it’s good for people. This increase is long overdue.”
Here is the complete list of endorsing organizations: A Better Balance: The Work & Family Legal Center, AFL-CIO, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE), Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN), Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, Care in Action, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Communications Workers of America (CWA), Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR), Demand Progress, Economic Policy Institute (EPI), Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project, First Focus Campaign for Children, Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), Indivisible, Jobs With Justice, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Milwaukee Area Service & Hospitality Workers Union, National Black Worker Center, National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), National Education Association (NEA), National Employment Lawyers Association, National Employment Law Project (NELP), National Institute for Workers’ Rights, National Network to End Domestic Violence, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Urban League, National Women's Law Center (NWLC), One Fair Wage, Oxfam America, Patriotic Millionaires, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Shriver Center on Poverty Law, Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund (SPLCAF), The Workers Circle, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), United for Respect, United Steelworkers (USW), Voices for Progress (V4P), Workplace Fairness, YWCA USA
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