The Fight for $15 movement, which has been rebranded as Fight for a Union, has been in a decade-long fight for workers’ rights. Now, their work is paying off.
With wages no longer only a progressive issue, new research from the advocacy group Economic Employment Law Project revealed that 21 states across the country will implement minimum wage increases beginning on Jan. 1, 2025. This includes some traditionally conservative states like Missouri, Arizona, Illinois, Nebraska, Montana, and Alaska.
Additionally, Oregon and Florida will be adopting wage hikes in July, and Missouri and Alaska—states that went to Trump by large margins—passed ballot measures in November to increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2026 and 2027, respectively.
Minimum wages are also improving on the local level, with 88 jurisdictions implementing increases, according to the EELP report.
But it’s still progressive stronghold states that are leading the charge with the highest wage hikes. Washington will have the highest increase at $16.66, with California trailing close behind at $16.50 for most workers. New York will require $16.50 for workers in New York City and $15.50 for employees in other areas of the state.
However, voters of all political views agree that the minimum wage should be increased.
The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, and it’s otherwise designated in every state that doesn’t apply the federal minimum wage. It was first passed in 2007 and hasn’t increased since 2009—the longest stretch without an increase since the United States established a federal pay standard in 1938.
Anyone working 40 hours per week at the current federal minimum wage would make just $15,000 a year. This is the federal poverty level.
While the Democratic Party has reaffirmed its support for increasing the federal minimum wage, it’s been met with resistance from some Republicans. Though the GOP stated in its platform guide that “we’ll keep pushing Congress to increase it to at least $15 for all Americans.”
After President Joe Biden expressed support for raising the federal minimum wage during an October 2020 debate, Donald Trump said that increasing the minimum wage would harm businesses.
“He said we have to help our small businesses—by raising the minimum wage? That’s not helping. I think it should be a state option,” he said.
Well, it looks like states are taking it into their own hands after all.
If Congress is unable to act on raising the federal minimum wage, states are stepping up to ensure that workers aren’t forced into poverty and perhaps clearing a path to a more prosperous future for workers.
