Thursday, June 19, 2014

Here's Where The Fights To Increase The Minimum Wage Are Taking Place Across The Country

Proposals to raise the minimum wage above the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour are increasingly divisive. In many states, the push is opposed by state officials concerned that local minimum wages could create a confusing patchwork. Opponents also say higher wages could force businesses to cut jobs or raise prices. Here's a look at some battlegrounds:



___ SEATTLE: The City Council voted this month to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Big businesses will get three or four years to phase in the increase; smaller employers get seven years. A federal lawsuit is challenging the increase.



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CHICAGO: City aldermen are calling for a $15 minimum wage; state lawmakers in Illinois have placed a vote on the fall ballot asking voters whether the state's $8 minimum wage should be increased to $10.



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SAN FRANCISCO: City voters will decide in November whether to raise the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2018.



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NEW YORK CITY: Mayor Bill de Blasio had asked state lawmakers to raise the state's minimum wage from $8 an hour to $10.10, make future increases automatic based on inflation and allow cities to raise their starting wages up to $13.13. It appears state lawmakers will adjourn without voting on the measure.



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OKLAHOMA CITY: Workers and organized labor urged city leaders to consider raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10, but state lawmakers blocked the proposal by passing legislation to prohibit cities from setting their own minimum wages.



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PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — Workers at large hotels in the city pushed for a $15 minimum wage that would apply only to large hotels within the city limits. State lawmakers then passed legislation that will raise the state's $8 minimum to $9 next year, but also took away the authority of cities to set their own wage rules.



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HAWAII, MARYLAND, CONNECTICUT: Leaders in all three states have voted to gradually raise the minimum wage to $10.10.



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MASSACHUSETTS: Lawmakers have voted to raise the state's $8 per hour wage to $11 by 2017.



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