The Need to Raise the Minimum Wage

Workers Need $15 an Hour to Provide Basic Needs

By Alicia Benjamin

AMinnesota man recently posted this message on Twitter that reflects the growing anxiety many people in this country are feeling because their wages don’t cover the cost of living. “I got my paycheck today,” Eric Sartana Horner posted on Twitter on June 3, 2021. He added: “Had $6 left for two weeks, after bills. Had to go to the food bank...Wages are too low. Just like my spirits.”

According to the Raleigh-based Poor People’s Campaign (PPC), an anti-poverty organization led by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, nationwide there are more than 40 million low wage workers. The PPC also states that in 2018, 4.6 million residents in North Carolina (44% of the people) are poor or low-income. This includes 53% of children (1.2 million) and 58% of Black people (1.2 million) and 67% of Latinx people (699,000) in the state.

Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour would lift pay for 32 million workers across the country (21% of the U.S. workforce), according to the Economic Policy Institute. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour and has not increased since 2009. This boost in the minimum wage would lift these workers out of poverty, allow them to better provide for their families and help them achieve self-sufficiency, since the U.S. spends $107 billion annually on federal assistance programs for low wage workers, according to a 2021 UC Berkeley Labor Center report.

The Raise the Wage Act of 2021, a provision that was initially included in the latest COVID-19 Stimulus Package that President Joseph R. Biden signed earlier this year, that would have raised the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, was rejected by the Senate. But Biden pivoted and signed an executive order on April 27, that will raise the hourly minimum wage to $15 for all federal contractors beginning next March.

“I believe no one should work full-time and still live in poverty,” Biden posted on Twitter the day he signed the order. And he’s right. Nowhere in this country could someone working a minimum wage job be able to afford housing, food, other necessities and healthcare. It’s time to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 for all workers in the U.S.

Here are three Charlotte-area workers who spoke with me recently about why making $15 an hour is necessary for them to sufficiently provide for themselves.

Caitlin Z.

Age: 18 Job: Crew member/Assistant manager at a fast-food restaurant Hourly pay: $9.50–$11.00

I worked at a wing place for 7 months and received a raise when I became an assistant manager. A lot of us were working multiple jobs or working lots of overtime to try and pay our bills. I would work 8 to 9-hour shifts, 6 days a week and not make enough to put a dent in the bills I was paying. If I was making $15 an hour, I would be able to pay my bills for school. A higher minimum wage would help the high turnover rates at some places. We had a lot of people at my job not willing to put up with everything we went through for the pay we were getting. I recently resigned because of the establishment’s lax COVID protections for workers.

Tania P.

Age: 20 Job: Cashier/hostess at a restaurant Hourly pay: $8.50–$9.50

I worked at a restaurant for 2 1/2 years while I was a full-time student and paid tuition at a community college. Everything is getting more expensive as Charlotte gets bigger. I had to get a second job to pay for all my bills. I’m glad I can live with my parents. Single parents need to make $15 an hour because they have kids to look out for. If it was hard for me, it’s definitely hard for them. I recently switched jobs and I make $15 an hour now. I can pay my bills and help pay my tuition at a university. I don’t have to stress out about where I’m going to get money from. I’m in a better situation.

Benny B.

Age: 62 Job: Crew member at a fastfood restaurant Hourly pay: $9.50

I’ve been on my job for 6 months. The cost of food and other things we need goes up regularly, so they should raise workers’ pay on a regular basis. We need $15 an hour to afford the things we need to live. If I made $15 an hour, I would be able to pay all my bills -- water, electric, cell phone and other bills – on time. The more money you make, the more you can do. I don’t have a car, but if I made $15 an hour, I might be able to afford a used car. On the nights before I have to work, I stay with my sister, who lives close to the job, so that I can walk to work. If I had a car, I wouldn’t have to do that. P