Democrats in the House of Representatives have taken action to raise the minimum wage. But will workers see a benefit?
It was a party line vote among members of the Virginia delegation in Congress on raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. All the Democrats voted yes and all the Republicans voted no. That was the case for most states as the House approved the Raise the Wage Act this month, sending the bill over to the Senate where it faces an uncertain future.
Laura Goren at the Commonwealth Institute says raising the minimum wage would provide real help to struggling families.
“Here in Virginia, nearly 900,000 people would directly benefit from the Raise the Wage Act," Goren explains. "And another almost 300,000 would see an indirect boost due to ripple effects as employers sought to maintain wage scales.”
Congressman Tom Cole of Oklahoma is a Republican who thinks the minimum wage should be handled by the states.
"I would rather Oklahomans make the decision about what happens in Oklahoma or Virginians make the decision about what happens in Virginia,” he says.
Oklahoma and Virginia are two states where the federal minimum wage is also the state minimum wage.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
