In February 2013, President Obama had
proposed an increase in the minimum federal wage from $7.25 to $9 an
hour to address the problem of widening income inequality in the
country. His proposal was echoed in nationwide demonstrations for higher
wages, following which the ‘living wage’ bill was passed by the D.C.
Council in July 2013 with the support of eight of the 13 council
members.
The $8.25 minimum wage in D.C. is
already a dollar higher compared to the federal minimum wage, but the
D.C. bill required all large retailers with revenues above $1 billion to
pay non-union workers at least $12.50 an hour.
For a while, things seemed to be looking
up for minimum wagers, but Corporate America was having none of it.
Walmart (WMT) and other large retailers pressured policymakers to make
sure the bill wasn’t passed. They wrote to the D.C. mayor, pressuring
him to abandon the bill… ‘or else’. He eventually caved in to the
pressure, dealing the first blow to the legislation. Laborers’ hopes of
better compensation were finally dashed completely when the D.C. Council
failed to overturn the veto on September 18. read more.
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