The nationwide battle over the minimum wage will continue at the state and local level.
Over the past several years we’ve seen nationwide efforts, often precipitated by unions, to increase the minimum wage at the local level to $15 as a means of addressing economic inequality. The movement, called the “Fight for $15,” has seen some success in several states as well as in numerous cities. Seattle, New York, San Francisco, San Jose and others in the Silicon Valley of California have adopted a $15 minimum wage, usually to be reached by incremental increases over a period of years. Interestingly, some of these cities are now seeking to accelerate the progression and go to $15 immediately, like Emeryville, Calif., which recently took its minimum wage to $15.20.
The National Bureau of Economic Research concluded that the $15 mandate has, as some predicted, resulted in job losses and reduced work hours in Seattle. Fearing similar results, the state of Missouri recently rolled back a plan to gradually increase the minimum wage. Yet efforts at the local level to require substantial increases in the minimum wage continue across the country, albeit at a slower pace. These efforts predate the current presidential administration, which has very publicly promised to slow down the pace of federal regulation. It’s therefore difficult to ascribe any single cause for the increased local action. However, at present, it continues to move forward and is even likely to accelerate.