In a historic moment, Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser signed into law new legislation that would raise the city’s minimum wage to $15 and hour by 2020.
The plan is to increase the current minimum wage, which is $10.50 an hour, to $11.50 an hour next month. The wage will increase incrementally until reaching $15 an hour by 2020. Tipped workers will have their minimum wage increase from $2.77 an hour to $5 an hour.
Three months ago, I said we would take up the #FightFor15 in DC and I am so excited to sign it into law today! pic.twitter.com/Ps7pkQVk1H
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) June 27, 2016
However, there is still debate as to whether $15 an hour will really be a livable wage for those working and living in Washington DC, let alone in 2020. $15 an hour translates to just over $31,000 a year for a worker with a 40 hour work week. According to U.S. Uncut, the livable wage for one adult in D.C. nowadays is nearly that already, at $14.49. This doesn’t even come close the single parents, whose living wage is around $30 an hour, or two adults with one child, which is about $17 an hour.
Several other cities have passed minimum wage laws, promising to have a minimum wage of $15 an hour by 2020 or 2021. Boston is also close to passing legislation, with Mayor Marty Walsh supporting the $15 an hour movement.
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