By Geri Gibbons
Times Leader (PA), July 26, 2015

WILKES-BARRE — ... Federally, it seems raising the minimum wage has been a long time coming. This past Friday marked six years since the federal minimum wage was last increased in 2009.

Some businesses have come forward with their contention that raising the minimum wage will not only be good for employees, but good for businesses and the economy in general.

According to the website of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, comprised of business and executives supporting a federal minimum wage increase to at least...

By Kate Rogers
CNBC, July 21, 2015

A New York state board is scheduled to weigh in on fast-food wages on Wednesday. Citing a person familiar with the plans, The Wall Street Journal said the Wage Board is expected to recommend lifting the state's fast-food minimum wage to $15 an hour.

The state's hourly minimum is $8.75, and will reach $9 by the end of the year. The board—created at the urging of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo—has the power to raise wages for state fast-food workers without legislative approval. ... Within the fast-food industry, McDonald's...

By Aimee Picchi
CBS MoneyWatch, July 20, 2015

The global economy is improving. Just don't tell many of the people who live and work in it. That's according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which has published a report about the labor conditions of its nearly three dozen member countries, including the U.S., Japan, and European countries such as the U.K. While economic conditions have generally improved, the recovery is far from complete, and remains uneven across countries.

One of the ailments of today's job market is a shift toward part-time work...

By Amanda Yeager
Baltimore Sun, July 1, 2015

The minimum wage in Maryland is on the rise. The second increase in the state's base hourly rate went into effect on Wednesday, six months after the first pay hike from $7.25 to $8 went into effect on Jan. 1.

Minimum wage workers will earn $8.25 an hour for the next year. The Maryland General Assembly voted to raise the minimum wage in increments when it passed the bill in 2014 – the rate will now rise on an annual basis for the next three years, to...

By Kate Rogers
CNBC, June 30, 2015

As advocates work to raise the federal minimum wage, the Obama Administration is taking action where it can to fight income inequality. President Barack Obama late Monday introduced a proposal to extend overtime payment to more white-collar workers. Obama unveiled his plan to extend overtime protections to nearly 5 million workers in 2016. ...

The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

Beyond smaller employers, some of America's largest businesses already have raised wages above $7.25 an hour, the federal minimum.

The Gap announced hikes for workers...

Some business leaders have backed counternarrative that wage hikes will benefit all levels of economy

By Cherri Senders
Los Angeles Business Journal, June 22, 2015

... The public conversation around lifting the minimum wage is both familiar and distressing. We have come to accept a narrative that pits the interests of low-wage workers and their families against those of business and the economic climate. But what if this narrative is more myth than fact? What if there were actually a convergence between the interests of workers at the bottom of the economic ladder and businesses...

Legislation to further engage workers will help business bottom lines

By David Brodwin
U.S. News & World Report, June 22, 2015

The world of corporations divides in two when it comes to mobilizing and motivating employees. Some, for example Starbucks and Southwest Airlines, take the high road. They pay above average wages, provide above average training and take steps to engage their workers and keep them happy. 

Other companies take the low road, cutting wages and benefits as far as possible, then pushing payroll costs even lower with exploitive on-call scheduling. ...

New research recently...

By Collin Reischman
Missouri Times, June 18, 2015

Saint Louis, Mo. — Mayor Francis Slay has kicked off a discussion about the minimum wage and, in doing so, is fighting with state lawmakers in an effort to move the City of Saint Louis toward a higher minimum wage. It may be a debate before the city’s Board of Alderman, but with state lawmakers sending a bill — HB 722 — to the governor just weeks ago that explicitly prohibits any city from raising the minimum wage past the state rate, the battle lines are clearly drawn...

Editorial
St. Louis Post Dispatch, June 12, 2015

In the abstract, Mayor Francis Slay’s proposal to raise the minimum wage in the city of St. Louis over five years to $15 an hour is a splendid idea. Regrettably, in practice it might well make a dicey job market worse, undermining the city’s steps toward economic revival. Mr. Slay’s proposal, as set forth in Board Bill 83, will get its first hearing Tuesday in the aldermanic Ways and Means Committee. Though it has the support of at least eight of the 28 aldermen and aldermanic President...

By Don Lee
Los Angeles Times, June 1, 2015

FOR THE RECORD: 9:17 a.m., June 2: An earlier photo caption with this story identified hardware store owner Gina Schaefer as an advocate of a higher minimum wage. While she supports raising the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020, she has taken no position on a $15-an-hour minimum wage.

Gina Schaefer prides herself in taking care of workers. The owner of 10 Ace Hardware stores in the Washington, D.C., area pays her 215 employees at least $10.50 an hour. That's a buck more...