Washington, D.C. this week became one of several cities that will eventually see its minimum wage rise to $15 an hour.
“City councils and mayors can get the job done when it’s not done in Congress,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told a crowd of supporters and city officials Monday night as she signed the Fair Shot Minimum Wage Amendment Act of 2016 outside of the Columbia Heights Civic Plaza in Northwest D.C.
Three months ago, I said we would take up the #FightFor15 in DC and I am so excited to sign it into law today! pic.twitter.com/Ps7pkQVk1H
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) June 27, 2016
The increase in the minimum wage, a major victory for organizations like D.C. for $15 and Fight for $15 campaigns, drew praise from President Obama.
“I commend the District of Columbia, Mayor Muriel Bowser, and the Council of the District of Columbia for raising the District’s minimum wage,” said Obama, who called for a rise in the federal minimum wage in 2013. “That’s progress. But we must continue to build on that progress — because no American working full-time in this country should struggle to make ends meet.”
D.C.’s minimum nontipped wage had already been slated to rise from its current $10.50 an hour to $11.50 an hour later this week due to legislation signed in 2014 by former Mayor Vincent Gray. Now under new law, it will continue to rise each year until it hits $15 in 2020.
Workers who earn tips will see an increased base pay rate from $2.77 to $5 an hour by 2020. Employers in D.C. will also eventually be responsible for paying their employees the difference if their tips do not make up the balance between the minimum base pay and the new minimum wage.
The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, but numerous states have increased their minimum wage through their own local legislation.
On July 1, 2018, San Francisco will become the first U.S. city to raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour, followed years later by Los Angeles and Seattle. California and New York also have $15 laws.
The D.C. City Council unanimously approved an ordinance to increase the minimum wage and minimum base wage on June 7.
“As a direct result of our grassroots organizing, we were able to spur the Mayor and the Council to take action. Even without going to the ballot, we’ve demonstrated the effect that people power can have our elected officials,” the D.C. for $15 campaign said in a statement about the signing of the legislation.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the proposal would raise wages for 114,000 working people in D.C. — about 14 percent of all city workers — and over one-fifth of D.C. private sector workers.
Once the minimum wage reaches $15, the average affected worker would earn roughly $2,900 more each year than he or she does today, the left-leaning think tank revealed in May.
