Pass the Raise the Wage Act and increase the minimum wage to $17 an hour
Petition to Congress:
We urge you to pass the Raise the Wage Act, increase the minimum wage to $17 an hour, and ensure families are able to afford the cost of living.
Since the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour took effect in 2009, it hasn’t gone up a penny — the longest period without an increase since 1938. If wages had gone up in line with worker productivity over the last 50 years, the minimum wage right now would be $23 an hour and if wages had kept up with Wall Street employee bonuses, it would be more than $43 an hour.1
Corporate CEOs want to line their pockets with profits and pay workers as little as they can.
In 2023, $7.25 an hour is no longer a living wage. As Senator Bernie Sanders put it when he announced his legislation to raise the minimum wage: "The $7.25 an hour federal minimum wage is a starvation wage. It must be raised to a living wage—at least $17 an hour."2
Sign the petition: Tell Congress to pass the Raise the Wage Act and increase the minimum wage to $17 an hour.
As the cost of living rises across the country because of corporate price-gouging, the minimum wage hasn’t kept up. Low wages have severely, and disproportionately, affected people of color and women, especially women of color who are often severely underpaid.3
Passing the Raise the Wage Act would address the racial pay gap, provide livable wages, and phase out extremely low wages for tipped workers, which can be as low as $2.13 an hour.4 According to the recent Family Budget Calculator, there is nowhere in the United States where a minimum wage of $15 an hour is enough to meet a family’s basic needs.5
Across the country, workers need to earn at least $17 an hour to meet the cost of living. And we know corporations and their millionaire CEOs can afford to pay a living wage.
Add your name: Demand that Congress pass the Raise the Wage Act and increase the minimum wage.
Sources:
- Office of Senator Bernie Sanders, “NEWS: Sanders, Scott, 29 Democratic Senators, Introduce Legislation to Raise the Minimum Wage to $17 by 2028, Benefitting Nearly 28 Million Workers Across America,” July 25, 2023.
- Ibid.
- Economic Policy Institute, “Why the U.S. needs at least a $17 minimum wage,” July 31, 2023.
- Ibid.
- Economic Policy Institute, “Updated Family Budget Calculator provides data on the cost of living in every county and major metropolitan area,” March 3, 2022.