BFMW In the News

Time: Why It’s the Perfect Time to Raise the Federal Minimum Wage

By Chris Lu
Time, July 24, 2017

Lu served as the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor during the Obama Administration

It’s been eight years since the federal minimum wage was last raised on July 24, 2009. ... millions of people continue to work for the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour — without a pay raise in sight. ...

As the Deputy Secretary of Labor, I saw not only how higher wages lifted up the lives of working-class Americans but also how employers thrived when they paid higher wages.

The Advocate: Despite lack of traction, raising minimum wage 'still a priority' for Gov. John Bel Edwards; what's holding him back?

By Elizabeth Crips
The Advocate (Baton Rouge), July 23, 2017. Also in Daily Comet.

Kenya Harris recalls taking the city bus from classes at Baton Rouge Community College to her minimum wage job at a fast food restaurant off Sherwood Forest across town — changing into her uniform in the restaurant's bathroom each day. ... With two young children at home, Harris quit college and was working two jobs, as a telemarketer in the day and again in fast food in the evenings. "It crippled me as far as time away from my kids," she said.

San Angelo (TX) Live: Some Business Owners Want to Increase the Federal Minimum Wage

By Cameron Niblock
San Angelo Live, July 22, 2017

U.S. – Business owners across the nation are coming together in support of increasing the federal minimum wage in the U.S.

July 24 will mark eight years since the federal minimum wage was last increased, according to the Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. Since 2009, the federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25, which is worth less than it was in 1950, adjusted for the cost of living.

Voice of America: CEOs at Major US Firms Earn 271 Times as Much as Employees

By Jim Randle
Voice of America, July 20, 2017

WASHINGTON — A study by the Economic Policy Institute says the chief executive officers of America's largest firms were paid an average of $15.6 million each in 2016.

In a report published Thursday, authors Lawrence Mischel and Jessica Schieder say that amount is 271 times as much as a "typical" worker's earnings at those same corporations. That ... is still "light years" higher than the 20-to-1 gap between workers and bosses in 1965, or the 59-to-1 difference that was measured in 1989. ...

USA TODAY: Still looking for a raise? The fight for a higher minimum wage to continue in 2018

By Charisse Jones and Kellie Ell
USA TODAY, July 14, 2017

After her state's minimum wage rose in January to $9 from $7.50 an hour, Kathy Rondone got an extra $20 a week in her paycheck. "To me that's not coffee money or spare change,'' says Rondone, an administrative assistant who lives in Augusta, Maine. "It is a set of windshield wipers when mine broke in a storm last February. ... It's a really big deal.'' 

Wilkes Barre Times Leader: Rally held in support of raising state’s minimum wage

By Bill O’Boyle
Times Leader, July 6, 2017

WILKES-BARRE — The minimum wage has not increased in Pennsylvania in about a decade, and a group gathered at City Hall on Thursday believes a hike is long overdue. Speakers at the rally said raising the $7.25-per-hour minimum rate is a critical step to increase the earnings of workers in Pennsylvania. It would also provide additional income tax revenue while ensuring that working families have access to basic needs, they argued.

PA Homepage Eyewitness News: Minimum wage rally held in Wilkes-Barre

Many families earning minimum wage are living below the poverty line.

PA Homepage Eyewitness News WBRE and WYOU, July 6, 2017

WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)- Rallies across Pennsylvania today calling for an increase in the state's minimum wage. That rate now stands at $7.25 per hour.

The folks at one rally in Wilkes-Barre say the minimum wage at its current level is barely enough to make ends meet. In fact, many families earning minimum wage are living below the poverty line.