What's going on with raising the minimum wage

[eridani]

6. Appetite is Growing for a Fifteen Dollar Minimum Wage

http://www.nationofchange.org/more-seattles-please-appetite-growing-15-minimum-wage-1398567714

ou'd think unions would accept the enthusiastic public support for a $15 minimum wage as a gift-wrapped campaign sent from the heavens.

If unions organized campaigns for $15 nationwide, they’d win the support and admiration of hundreds of thousands, who would then be ripe for joining. A labor movement on life support would receive a massive injection of oxygen.

And if all workers made $15, the leverage of unions at the bargaining table would increase exponentially. But in most cities, unions have not yet followed up with the serious community organizing that would be necessary to make $15 a reality.

Seattle has proven it’s possible. Unions there are wisely going all in: a Service Employees-led coalition called Working Washington is mobilizing its members and the community for $15. The mayor and city council are working on a plan to introduce the new minimum.

Working people in Seattle can see that labor unions are fighting for them—making them more likely to rally to labor’s defense in the future.

I’m pleased to report we’re now seeing the first steps to mobilize for a $15 minimum in a few other cities: San Francisco, Chicago, and Portland, Oregon, where I live.