Democrats Propose $25 Minimum Wage by 2038

A group of House Democrats introduced a bill Tuesday that would hike the minimum wage to $25 per hour, the boldest target any progressives in Congress have set for the federal wage floor. The legislation from Reps. Delia Ramirez (Ill.) and Analilia Mejia (N.J.) won’t be going anywhere while Republicans control the House and Senate. But it’s a sign of how some Democrats are moving well beyond the $15 minimum wage that was the party’s rallying cry for several years, especially as families continue to feel the squeeze of inflation. Ramirez said at a press conference outside the House on Tuesday that basic living expenses have continued to climb while the federal minimum wage has remained stagnant for over a decade. “People are working full-time jobs and still cannot afford to live,” Ramirez said. She said the current minimum wage of $7.25 “is not a living wage. That is a wage to keep you poor and barely keep you living.” The bill would provide a several-year phase-in period and give smaller firms more time to adjust. Large employers that have at least 500 workers or $1 billion in gross annual revenue would hit $25 by 2031. Employers that don’t meet those criteria would have until 2038. Ramirez said the gradual phase-in would “ensure small businesses are able to get to 25 an hour.” After the initial increases, the proposal would tie the minimum wage to two-thirds of the national median hourly pay. It would also eliminate the “tipped” minimum wage for restaurant servers and other workers who get much of their income from gratuities. The federal minimum wage hasn’t budged since 2009, after a series of increases were passed under President George W. Bush. A majority of states, including several red ones, have raised their own wage floors in lieu of action from Congress, but the low rate of $7.25 still prevails in 16 states, many of them in the South. In some states, restaurants can still pay servers as little as $2.13 per hour, provided tips bring their wages up to the regular minimum wage. A handful of House Democrats have gotten on board with the $25 proposal, including Reps. Chuy Garcia (Ill.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Lateefah Simon (Calif.) and Greg Casar (Texas), chair of the House Progressive Caucus. It also has the backing of labor unions such as the Service Employees International Union and the National Education Association, and the advocacy group One Fair Wage, which has pushed for years to abolish the tipped minimum wage. But the bill would face opposition from all Republicans and probably some moderate Democrats as well, particularly those in states where it would more than double the minimum wage. While the GOP has been the primary obstacle to wage floor increases over the past 17 years, centrist Democrats have often balked at their colleagues’ more aggressive proposals. A handful of blue states now have minimum wages set at around $17 per hour, while some blue cities with high costs of living are approaching $20 per hour. Last year, San Diego’s city council passed a law that will push the minimum wage for certain hospitality workers to $25 per hour by 2030. Mejia, who was sworn into Congress last week after winning a New Jersey special election, said she expects critics to say the proposal is too ambitious, that it’s “too much, too fast.” But she insisted it was possible with committed organizing. She said, “The truth is we know there isn’t a corner in these United States where making less than $25 is tenable.” Misinformation spreads fast. Fact-based reporting is how we fight back. Your membership funds the reporters holding power accountable every single day. 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