Members of Congress To Introduce $15/hr Bill

After New York passed a law requiring some fast food restaurants to pay their low-wage workers $15/hr, members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus including Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) plan to introduce legislation to raise the federal miniumum wage to $15/hr.  Details are to be released today.  The increase is substantially more than previous Democratic proposals.  The Current Occupant only proposed an increase to $9/hr and some congresspeople proposed $12/hr by 2020.  Los Angeles', San Francisco's and Seattle's city councils recently raised their minimum to $15 to be phased in over a period of years.  Repeated strikes accross the country by low-wage fast-food workers have influenced reluctant politicians' thinking on the issue. The sticking point for Repugnants is the repeated claim that raising the minimum wage that high will hurt economic activity.  Research shows that business could absorb the higher labor costs by reducing turnover, higher prices and more economic growth.  States that have increased their minimum wage have experienced above average growth in jobs.