BFMW In the News

By Joanna Fantozzi
Restaurant Hospitality, Feb 5, 2021

By John Biers, Delphine Touitou
AFP News (Agence France-Presse), Barron's, Jan 31, 2021. Also in International Business Times, Yahoo News, MSN, Raw Story, many more

When President Joe Biden unveiled a $1.9 trillion stimulus proposal earlier this month, few were surprised by the plan's hefty price tag or sweeping scope. More striking was Biden's inclusion of a measure to more than double the federal minimum wage to $15. ...

By Benjamin Kail
MassLive, Jan 27, 2021

Democrats are pressing to double the federal minimum wage to $15, introducing a standalone bill in Congress Tuesday as lawmakers and White House officials haggle over President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 stimulus plan, which also includes a bump ...

“The economy will get a shot in the arm when states raise their minimum wage to start the new year,” Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said in December. More than 1,300 businesses and business groups have signed on to support Sklar’s effort, according to CBS News.

By Sarah Ewall-Wice
CBS News, Jan 27, 2021

President Biden is among those who believe that raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour is what's needed to bring the lowest-paid Americans out of poverty. "No one in America should work 40 hours a week making below the poverty line," he said Friday. ...

By Stephen Parkhurst
Grow / CNBC, Jan 27, 2021

WATCH VIDEO with Business for a Fair Minimum Wage Vice President Alissa Barron-Menza, Badger Balm Co-CEO Rebecca Hamilton and Dr. Bronner's CEO David Bronner.

By Aarthi Swaminathan
Yahoo Finance, Jan 26, 2021

New Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and congressional Democrats are renewing their push to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. ... The newly introduced bill is co-sponsored by House Committee on Education and Labor Chair Bobby Scott (D-VA), Sanders, Senate HELP Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL). ...

Business Record, Jan 26, 2021

Vermont Business Magazine, Jan 26, 2021

In a press conference today, incoming Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) joined incoming Senate HELP Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA), Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Representative Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) to announce the introduction of legislation raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025. ...

By Juliana Kaplan 
Business Insider, Jan 26, 2021

"This is not a radical idea," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on Tuesday. "This is what the American people want." ... Sanders was speaking on a press call with other Democrats from both congress and the senate who introduced the Raise the Wage Act, which would increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. 

By Tyler Jett
Des Moines Register, Jan 26, 2021

... 'As much money in as many hands as possible'

The new jobs report arrived Tuesday as Democrats, with control over both the U.S. House and Senate, began to map out economic policy priorities. The most prominent move so far: The roll-out of Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus proposal. ...

By Chris Ullery, Bucks County Courier Times
Herald Mail, Jan 21, 2021

Democratic lawmakers heard from advocates, academics and business groups Monday on a renewed push to give minimum wage workers in Pennsylvania a raise to $15 an hour. Over 100 people attended the Zoom hearing on minimum wage hosted by the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee, covering a broad range of topics over three hours.

The state has used the $7.25-per-hour federal minimum wage since 2009, a wage that many lawmakers and advocates say is unlivable and perpetuates poverty. ...

By Elisabeth Buchwald
MarketWatch, Jan. 19, 2021

... Dubbed the American Rescue Plan, [Biden's] proposal also includes $1,400 stimulus checks and increased child tax credits. “No one working 40 hours a week should live below the poverty line,” Biden said when he announced the package. “That’s what it means if you work for less than $15 an hour and work 40 hours a week, you’re living in poverty.” ...

By Juliana Kaplan 
Business Insider, Jan 15, 2021

President-elect Joe Biden's newly unveiled $1.9 trillion stimulus package includes one important economic measure — raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. ...

That means over 20 million workers could get a raise — and a new study finds the pay bump could also be a boon for taxpayers. 

By Seth Sandronsky
The Center Square, Jan 5, 2021. Also in Tracy Press, Mountain House Press, Patterson Irrigator, Scotts Valley Press Banner, San Lorenzo Valley Press Banner

The hourly minimum wage in California rose to $14 on Jan. 1, and will climb to $15 in 2023. Firms with 25 workers or less have an extra year to raise the minimum wage to $15. Upon the minimum wage reaching $15 for all hourly employees, there will be annual adjustments for cost of living increases. ...

By Andrew Thompson
NJ Today, Jan 4, 2021

New Jersey is one of 20 states that will be raising their minimum wage to start the new year. Another four states have minimum wage increases scheduled later in 2021.

Business leaders across the country say minimum wage increases will boost consumer spending, strengthen local workforces and help build a shared economic recovery.

“The economy will get a shot in the arm when states raise their minimum wage to start the new year,” said Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage.