
As a result, millions of our nation’s workers – including many of our celebrated essential workers – are working full-time jobs but are still struggling to make ends meet. One in nine U.S. workers is paid wages that leave them in poverty, even when working full time and year-round.
The Raise the Wage Act will give millions of Americans a long-overdue raise and lift struggling workers and their families out of poverty.
Tweet At Our Federal Lawmakers
Tell them why you support the Raise the Wage Act!
The Raise the Wage Act of 2021 would:
According to forthcoming analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, gradually raising the minimum wage to $15 would increase wages for nearly 32 million Americans. Once fully phased in, this translates into an annual pay increase of about $3,300 for the average affected year-round worker.
A majority of people who would benefit from a $15 minimum wage are essential and frontline workers who have demonstrated their importance to our communities and our economy throughout the pandemic. More than one-third of those working in residential or nursing care facilities would get a raise.
The Congressional Budget Office’s cautious report on a similar proposal estimated that gradually raising the minimum wage to $15 would lift 1.3 million Americans out of poverty, including 600,000 children. The Raise the Wage Act would increase pay for roughly 6 in 10 working families whose total family income is below the poverty line.
Raising the federal minimum wage is a powerful tool to address racial pay inequality. Under the Raise the Wage Act, nearly one-third of all Black workers and one-quarter of Latinos would get a raise. In addition, women comprise nearly 60 percent of workers who would see their pay increase under the bill.
When we put money in the pockets of low-wage workers and their families, they will spend that money in local businesses. In fact, Congress first established the federal minimum wage in 1938 – under the shadow of the Great Depression – to support American workers and boost the economy. The Raise the Wage Act will help ensure that all Americans share in the economic recovery.
