Nightly Business Report, Produced by CNBC, Dec 25 and 28, 2015
KATE ROGERS, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: From big corporations like Walmart to big cities like Los Angeles, 2015 was the year of the raise. With the federal minimum wage stagnant at $7.25 an hour since 2009, companies along with state and local governments have taken matters into their own hands. ...
ROGERS: But for wage advocates, raises aren't kicking in fast enough.
ALISSA BARRON-MENZA [Vice President, Business for a Fair Minimum Wage]: Consumer demand and income levels have not recovered in the wake of the Great Recession. And raising the minimum wage is a very effective tool for boosting consumer demand because low wage workers tend to spend every additional dollar they earn.
ROGERS: While the debate over pay rages on, Bar Marco, a Pittsburgh- based restaurant instituted a tip free flat wage for all employees from kitchen to wait staff of $35,000 a year. No tip policies at restaurants marked a trend that picked up in 2015. Workers at Bar Marco also get a stake in the restaurant through the profit sharing plus health insurance. ...
ZAC CERQUEDA, BAR MARCO LINE COOK: We`re making what we make and being able to make more is definitely pushing me to do better every day.
ROGERS: Main Street will be watching in 2016 as presidential hopefuls on both sides of the aisle continue their debate over when and how to raise the pay floor in Washington. And in Congress, Democrats will continue to push to hike the federal minimum to $12 an hour by 2020.
http://nbr.com/2015/12/28/minimum-wage-battles-in-2015/