Momentum To Raise Minimum Wage Follows Big Democratic Wins

With the support of President Obama and big wins for Democrats on election day, the push for a minimum wage raise has some legs.

The White House confirmed Thursday that Obama was backing an effort to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, which is higher than the $9 an hour proposal he championed in his State of the Union address last winter.

The announcement comes just days after voters in New Jersey approved a $1 increase in the state’s minimum wage to $8.25 an hour. And when all the votes are counted, residents of a suburban Washington town, SeaTac, likely pushed the minimum wage up to an eye-catching $15 an hour for about 6,500 men and women who work at or near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

“We’re talking about a $15-an-hour minimum wage,” said Tsedeye Gebreselassie, staff attorney for the National Employment Law Project, which is helping lead national efforts for a minimum wage increase. “That’s a message that people think the $15 minimum wage is fair and what you need to survive. And business can absolutely afford it. It’s a big deal.”

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.