Americans gain traction in fight for increased minimum wage
Americans have been fighting for a minimum wage increase for quite some time now, but recently, big steps have been taken to show that these requests are being taken to heart.
While companies like Chipotle have begun taking steps in the right direction, very few large corporations have taken as big of a leap as Ikea has. After raising the company-wide minimum wage last year, Ikea has decided to raise it yet again, taking it to a total of $10 per hour minimum, a 15 percent hike from the current pay.
Seattle recently introduced a city-wide $15 per hour minimum wage, bringing pay to more than double the national minimum wage. Chicago followed suit by raising the minimum wage to $10 per hour, but some Chicago activists think that isn't enough. A young girl at a rally on Tuesday, June 23 held a sign that boldly stated, "$15 means that my mommy can support me."
After the $15 per hour minimum wage was implemented in Seattle, Nick Hanauer, an early Amazon investor, made a trip to New York to speak about increasing minimum wage in the city to $15 per hour, particularly for fast food workers.
The tech-guru told Gawker:
"I was at the forefront of the effort to pass $15 minimum wage in Seattle, and have been collaborating with the people who are trying to make that happen across the country."
Hanauer was adamant about discussing employees who are on public assistance, highlighting the fact that it wouldn't have an enormous financial impact on bigger companies and corporations:
"There is no earthly reason why Walmart and McDonald's and Walgreens and these other giant, profitable institutions should have one worker in need of public assistance. It's ridiculous."
While Americans around the nation continue to fight for an increase in minimum wage, it's nice to know that they're not alone. Not only are huge corporate influencers attempting to make a change, but big corporations and entire cities are listening to the national outcry and making a change.
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