(IJR.COM) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by October 2025, a big win for workers and labor groups, even as it remained unlikely the bill would pass a Republican-controlled Senate.
The move comes at a time when the $15 minimum wage fight has been gaining momentum around the country with several states and large private-sector employers that hire entry-level workers.
Cities and states including Seattle, San Francisco, New York state, California, Arkansas and Missouri have raised their minimum wage. Over the past year, employers like Amazon.com Inc and Costco Wholesale Corp have raised their base wages to $15 an hour while others like Target Corp have committed to going up to that level by the end of 2020.
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Even some opposed to the move like fast-food chain operator McDonald's Corp said recently it would no longer fight proposals to raise the federal minimum wage.
The country's largest private sector employer Walmart Inc, which pays $11 in base wages to its employees, recently said it supports raising the federal minimum wage, calling it "too low."
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