Truthout
Minimum Wage
![Supporters take the stage to celebrate a likely victory at the Yes on 1 and Yes on 4 event for the 2022 Midterm Elections at the Colonnade Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts on November 9, 2022.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1244637418-400x300.jpg)
Inequality-Fighting Ballot Initiatives Won Big in the Midterms
Voters approved proposals to tax the rich, build worker power, and make housing and education more affordable.
![Restaurant worker Ifeoma Ezumaki speaks during a rally to call for restaurant workers to be paid a full minimum wage with tips at the House Triangle of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on February 8, 2022.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/11/2022_11-09-one-fair-wage-400x300.jpg)
DC Voters Overwhelmingly Pass Measure to End Tipped Minimum Wage
If it is not repealed, the measure will raise the minimum wage for tipped workers from $5.35 to $16.10 an hour.
![People attend a rally calling for attention to the living conditions of the low-income people in Washington, D.C., on June 18, 2022.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/10/2022_1028-poverty-400x300.jpg)
Poverty Is at Emergency Levels in the US. Why Isn’t It a Midterm Election Issue?
Issues like raising the minimum wage and expanding health care should be front and center.
![Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a rally on October 28, 2021, in New Brunswick, New Jersey.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/10/2022_1017-bernie-sanders-400x300.jpg)
Sanders’s Midterm Advice to Democrats: Have the “Guts” to Lead on the Economy
It is key for Democrats to make it clear where they stand on issues like unions and minimum wage, he said.
![Sen. Ron Johnson attends a committee hearing in Dirksen Building on September 14, 2022.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/10/2022_1011-ron-johnsn-400x300.jpg)
Ron Johnson Suggests That Federal Minimum Wage Should Be Eliminated
Eliminating the federal minimum wage would likely have disastrous consequences for workers.
![Fast food workers rally at Los Angeles City Hall to protest unsafe working conditions and to demand a voice on the job through AB 257, on June 8, 2022, in Los Angeles.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/09/2022_0906-fast-food-workers-400x300.jpg)
Newsom Signs Bill Creating Fast Food Council With Power to Raise Minimum Wage
The law “gives hardworking fast-food workers a stronger voice and seat at the table,” Governor Newsom said.
![New York City restaurant workers rally outside Dine Brands shareholder meeting with signs reading 'the people who feed you are fed up' and 'Applebee's & Ihop are racist. New York shouldn't be. One Fair Wage Now!''](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/08/2022_0808-wage-protest-400x300.jpg)
Subminimum Wages Were Always Deplorable. Inflation Is Making Them Worse.
Activists are pushing to end policies that allow employers to pay some workers less than the $7.25 federal minimum wage.
![Health care workers celebrate as Los Angeles City Council gives a final approval to an ordinance raising the minimum wage for people working at some health care facilities in the city to $25 per hour on June 29, 2022, in Los Angeles, California.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/07/GettyImages-1241613277-400x300.jpg)
Federal Minimum Wage Hasn’t Been Raised in 13 Years
Progressives are urging Democrats to raise the pay floor as inflation continues to diminish workers' purchasing power.
![Activists with One Fair Wage participate in a wage strike demonstration outside of the Old Ebbitt Grill restaurant on May 26, 2021, in Washington, D.C.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/07/2022_0719-wages-400x300.jpg)
The Value of the Federal Minimum Wage Is at a 66-Year Low
Every day of inaction from Congress extends the longest period in history without a federal minimum wage raise.
![Seattle could soon become the first city to set minimum wage standards for app-based delivery workers.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/06/GettyImages-1316618722-1-400x300.jpg)
Seattle City Council Passes US’s First Minimum Wage Guarantee for Gig Workers
The rules would also prevent app companies from punishing workers based on their hours or which jobs they accept.