The D.C. City Council could vote as early as Tuesday to raise the city’s minimum wage to $15 per hour, putting the nation’s capital among a vanguard of jurisdictions boosting low-wage pay to try to combat growing income inequality. Under a proposal by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), the District would join New York and California in ratcheting up the city’s hourly minimum to $15 from $10.50. The proposed increase would more than double the federal minimum of $7.25, which is paid to workers in 21 states including Virginia. “This will be a historic victory for workers and a message heard nationwide,” said D.C. Council member Vincent Orange (D-At Large), whose committee passed the legislation last week and who predicted victory Tuesday before the full council. If passed, a final vote on the wage bill could come before the end of the month.
- excerpted from the Washington Post Comments are closed.
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