Sen. Baldwin, others introduce federal $15 minimum wage bill
Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin
MILWAUKEE - Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) has backed the "Raise the Wage Act" -- helping introduce legislation that proposes raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour over a four-year period.
The bill, which is available on Baldwin's website, outlines a handful of proposed wage changes. According to an Economic Policy Insitute analysis, the bill would increase wages for nearly 32 million workers -- roughly 21% of the U.S. workforce.
"The growing gap between those at the top and everybody else has been at historic highs in recent years," Baldwin said in a news release. "The absence of upward mobility for hard-working families demands action and it is past time to raise the minimum wage."
The proposed bill takes a five-step approach to raising the minimum wage over the course of four years. If adopted as written, the bill calls for a $9.50 minimum wage to take immediate effect, with incremental annual increases thereafter.
For tipped workers, the "Raise the Wage Act" would increase the federal minimum wage to $4.25. The current rate is $2.13 per hour, if that amount combined with tips received meets the current federal minimum wage, according to the Department of Labor.
The bill also proposes minimum wage increases for people under the age of 20 and for workers with disabilities.
The initiative is led in the U.S. Senate by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Patty Murray (D-Washington).
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