To End 'New Gilded Age,' House Progressives Unveil Bill to Raise Federal Minimum Wage to $25 Per Hour | Common Dreams
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​"We need an economy that reflects the realities of 2026, not one stuck over a decade ago," said the newly sworn-in Rep. Analilia Mejía, who helped lead the campaign to raise wages in her home state of New Jersey.

A pair of progressive Democrats unveiled a bill on Tuesday that would raise the federal minimum wage to $25 per hour, considered the bare minimum a single adult needs to meet the cost of living in much of the US.

The Living Wage For All Act is the first bill to be introduced by the newly sworn-in Rep. Analilia Mejía (D-NJ), who won a special election earlier this month after helping to lead the fight for a $15 minimum wage in her home state of New Jersey.

  • AmbitiousProcess (they/them)@piefed.socialEnglish
    26·
    22 hours ago

    For people who want the details:

    Companies with more than $1 billion gross revenue or more than 500 employees would be scheduled to increase their minimum pay to $25/hour by 2031, while smaller employers would be on a longer timeline to reach $25/hour by 2038.

    AKA no instant price shock

    To ensure wages don’t lag again in the following years, the bill also requires the minimum wage to automatically grow each year to reach the equivalent of two-thirds the national median hourly wage.

    This isn’t adjusted to inflation, but the median national hourly wage tends to reflect a very similar trend to inflation as measured by the CPI, but lags behind a bit. If the base minimum wage was raised like this, it would bring that stat much more on par with inflation, if not higher than it as it stands now.

    It also eliminates the subminimum wage, which is paid to tipped workers, youth workers, and workers with disabilities.

    FINALLY! Just because you receive tips, are younger, or have a disability, you shouldn’t be paid less than someone else if you’ve still gotten hired to do the job. You might be familiar with the tipped subminimum wage, which is where, if you receive tips from your job, instead of the $7.25/hr minimum wage, you can get paid as low as $2.13/hr as long as your tips make up the difference to bring you to at least $7.25.

    This is one reason why so many places want you to tip now. The person doesn’t get extra money, you just subsidize their employer paying them less out of their pocket.

    …buuuuuuuuuut there’s also a lowered minimum wage for disabled people… with literally no actual minimum. It’s why one Goodwill was at one point paying a guy $0.22/hr:

    https://www.cnbc.com/2013/06/21/some-disabled-workers-paid-just-pennies-an-hour.html

    If I didn’t know how screwed up America is, I’d assume that had to be satire, but nope, it’s real. Subminimum wages being abolished is great.

    • LemmyFeed@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      10·
      19 hours ago

      if you receive tips from your job, instead of the $7.25/hr minimum wage, you can get paid as low as $2.13/hr

      And yet some workers still fiercely defend it and will insist these rules stay in place. They’ve been brainwashed by the system to think they will somehow make less if subminimum is eliminated.

      It’s why one Goodwill was at one point paying a guy $0.22/hr:

      This is absolutely disgusting. Fuck that company. Selling donations at market rate and exploiting workers all while claiming nonprofit status. Like a true capitalist. If the company is non profit and they’re triple dipping on the merchandise and labor, where’s the money going?

      Seems a lot goes to executive pay and “grants” to other Goodwill organizations I wonder how much of that grant money is used for salaries in those organizations.