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What I've Been Reading This Week: Fight for $15 Edition


The past week, there has been a lot of attention paid to the minimum wage fight as workers across the country have walked out, held rallies, and protested for an increased minimum wage rate.  This "Fight for $15" movement originally started with fast food workers back in 2012, but has now grown to included home healthcare workers, janitors, and others in low paying careers.  As a result, I wanted to focus this post on that topic so readers can get caught up on the issue.

As always, below are a few articles that caught my eye this week.


Workers in over 200 cities took part in rallies and protests earlier this week in an effort to raise awareness for a minimum wage increase.  Some rallies were smaller and were hardly noticed while others drew bigger crowds and massive media attention.  Perhaps the biggest win at this time (aside from an increased minimum wage rate), is the national (and international) attention that has been drawn to the issue.










Following the vote last November from Bay Area voters to raise minimum wage rates, Palo Alto is considering raising its minimum wage rates from $9/hour to $10.30 with annual adjustments to follow.  Jason Green discusses how the City Council's Policy and Services Committee will decide the issue later this month, which if approved, would apply to all but a small group of employees in Palo Alto who work more than two hours per week.  



The Bangor Daily News has a good article on Portland's progression towards a higher minimum wage of $8.75/hour.  Although the Mayor of Portland had been pushing for a $9.50 minimum wage rate, the City Council's finance committee voted to endorse a less expansive plan.  At this stage, the plan will go to the full City Council.  Time will tell if this will actually pass...but something tells me with a less expansive plan already approved (and the increased focus on minimum wage increases), this one might become a reality sooner rather than later.



This article from The Washington Post, while shorter, highlights the support that a potential Democratic candidate for President has given the minimum wage fight.  Former Maryland Governor, Martin O'Malley, recently spoke out in support of increased minimum wage rates and his belief that areas around the country will move toward $15/hour wage rates.  While he could be pandering to voters, he does have a record of supporting a minimum wage increase in Maryland while serving as Governor.

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