Business Record, Jan 26, 2021

A prominent Des Moines small business owner is siding with federal minimum wage advocates who say that “raising wages is good business.” Mike Draper, owner of Raygun LLC, a popular clothing, home goods and printing company in the East Village, participated in a live videoconference today with other business owners from around the country and members of the Committee on Education and Labor... in support of the Raise the Wage Act of 2021. The legislation would raise the federal minimum wage incrementally from $7.25 to an hour to $15 by 2025.

“Paying...

By Juliana Kaplan 
Business Insider, Jan 26, 2021

"This is not a radical idea," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on Tuesday. "This is what the American people want." ... Sanders was speaking on a press call with other Democrats from both congress and the senate who introduced the Raise the Wage Act, which would increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. 

The call also included Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), the House Education and Labor Committee Chairman, who said the act would raise wages for 32 million workers, around half of whom are essential workers...

By Tyler Jett
Des Moines Register, Jan 26, 2021

... 'As much money in as many hands as possible'

The new jobs report arrived Tuesday as Democrats, with control over both the U.S. House and Senate, began to map out economic policy priorities. The most prominent move so far: The roll-out of Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus proposal. ...

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats introduced a bill Tuesday to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour from $7.25 over the next four years. Mike Draper, owner of the Des Moines-based RAYGUN T-shirt and souvenir stores, spoke...

Vermont Business Magazine, Jan 26, 2021

In a press conference today, incoming Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) joined incoming Senate HELP Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA), Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Representative Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) to announce the introduction of legislation raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025. ...

"Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025 will be a boost to the economy, and a boost to our sales. Raising wages is good business. Paying people fairly leads...

By Chris Ullery, Bucks County Courier Times
Herald Mail, Jan 21, 2021

Democratic lawmakers heard from advocates, academics and business groups Monday on a renewed push to give minimum wage workers in Pennsylvania a raise to $15 an hour. Over 100 people attended the Zoom hearing on minimum wage hosted by the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee, covering a broad range of topics over three hours.

The state has used the $7.25-per-hour federal minimum wage since 2009, a wage that many lawmakers and advocates say is unlivable and perpetuates poverty. ...

Testimony from members of...

By Elisabeth Buchwald
MarketWatch, Jan. 19, 2021

... Dubbed the American Rescue Plan, [Biden's] proposal also includes $1,400 stimulus checks and increased child tax credits. “No one working 40 hours a week should live below the poverty line,” Biden said when he announced the package. “That’s what it means if you work for less than $15 an hour and work 40 hours a week, you’re living in poverty.” ...

Some also see a $15 minimum wage as a tool for helping businesses.

“Workers are also customers. The current minimum wage keeps workers in poverty, and...

By Juliana Kaplan 
Business Insider, Jan 15, 2021

President-elect Joe Biden's newly unveiled $1.9 trillion stimulus package includes one important economic measure — raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. ...

That means over 20 million workers could get a raise — and a new study finds the pay bump could also be a boon for taxpayers. 

The study, which comes from the UC Berkeley Labor Center, found that the country's current low minimum wage costs taxpayers more than $100 billion a year. That's because nearly half of the working families who would benefit from the...

By Seth Sandronsky
The Center Square, Jan 5, 2021. Also in Tracy Press, Mountain House Press, Patterson Irrigator, Scotts Valley Press Banner, San Lorenzo Valley Press Banner

The hourly minimum wage in California rose to $14 on Jan. 1, and will climb to $15 in 2023. Firms with 25 workers or less have an extra year to raise the minimum wage to $15. Upon the minimum wage reaching $15 for all hourly employees, there will be annual adjustments for cost of living increases. ...

Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, takes...

By Andrew Thompson
NJ Today, Jan 4, 2021

New Jersey is one of 20 states that will be raising their minimum wage to start the new year. Another four states have minimum wage increases scheduled later in 2021.

Business leaders across the country say minimum wage increases will boost consumer spending, strengthen local workforces and help build a shared economic recovery.

“The economy will get a shot in the arm when states raise their minimum wage to start the new year,” said Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage.

“Businesses depend on customers who...

By Glenn Singer
UPI (United Press International), Jan 1, 2021

With the start of the new year, 20 states have raised their minimum wage - by as much as $1.50 per hour and as little as 8 cents.

For some workers, the increases will help their families whose bread earners have been hard-hit by the coronavirus and are trying to make ends meet. For others, miniscule increases won't make much of a dent. ...

The minimum wage increases this year "are an indication that people understand how much the $7.25 federal minimum wage keeps people...

By Danny Klein
FSR Magazine, January 2021

As President-elect Joe Biden assumes office later this month, he’ll bring a host of potential changes to Washington. When it comes to the restaurant industry, no topic presses deeper or more controversial than minimum wage. Biden expressed previously, pointedly on his “Build Back Better” transition website, a desire to provide workers “a decent wage, at least $15 per hour.” He’s also pushed to end tipped minimum wage and sub-minimum wage for people with disabilities. ...

Proponents of raising the minimum wage to $15 believe it would narrow racial and gender...

By Thy Vo
Colorado Sun, Jan 1, 2021

A new minimum wage increase will take effect in Colorado on New Year’s Day, bringing wages to $12.32 an hour, or $9.30 for tipped workers. The 2.7% statewide increase is based on language in the Colorado Constitution, which mandates annual inflation adjustments based on the consumer price index. Colorado voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2016 enshrining the annual wage increase in the state’s governing document. ...

The city of Denver passed a bill in 2019 to increase the minimum wage beyond the state baseline, which sets the new hourly rate for 2021 at...

By John Reitmeyer
NJ Spotlight News, Dec 31, 2020

The hourly minimum wage in New Jersey goes up by $1 for most low-income workers starting Friday, bringing it to $12. The mandatory pay increase is the latest installment in the state’s ongoing ramp-up to a $15 hourly minimum wage and comes during the economic downturn triggered by an international pandemic that has hit low-income workers particularly hard. ...

New Jersey is among 20 U.S. states where low-income workers will get mandatory raises at the start of 2021, according to Business for a Fair Minimum Wage...

By William J. Ford
Washington Informer, Dec 31, 2020

Nick Balmadier continues to gain coffee experience working at Vigilante Coffee Co. in College Park. Besides learning to grind coffee beans and brew java, the 22-year-old senior at the University of Maryland also gained another skill.

“I’ve learned how to clean better since working here,” said Balmadier of Howard County, who majors in community health. “It’s those little things that have made this an overall great experience.”

Starting Friday, workers in Maryland will see a minimum-wage increase from $11 to $11.75. State lawmakers overrode a veto by Gov...

By Aimee Picchi
CBS News MoneyWatch, Dec. 30, 2020

Workers in 20 states will get a pay hike on January 1 when the minimum wage increases, thanks to cost-of-living adjustments and other scheduled increases. Later in the year, another four states and Washington, D.C. will raise their baseline pay, which means that low-wage workers in almost half the nation could see higher pay next year. ...

The wage hikes in 2021 "are an indication that people understand how much the $7.25 federal minimum wage keeps people in poverty," said Holly Sklar, the CEO of Business for...