22 states and 38 localities increased their minimum wages on January 1st, affecting 9.9 million workers who will now receive $6.95 billion in additional wages. By the end of 2024, 85 jurisdictions in total will have increased their minimum wages.

As we celebrate the millions of workers who will receive a boost in their wages, however, we must not forget that there are still 17.6 million workers earning less than $15 per hour -- including tipped wage workers. In 2021, 34% of tipped wage workers reported their tips and wages combined didn’t meet their state’s minimum wage. To make matters worse, 35% of tipped workers reported experiencing wage theft in the last year.

According to estimates from the MIT Living Wage Calculator, there is not a single county in the US where a full-time worker making $7.25 an hour – which comes out to $15,080 a year -- can afford basic essentials.

Congress must immediately act by raising the federal minimum wage to a level that allows workers to actually sustain themselves and their families and tie it to inflation.

If Democrats want to keep the White House, regain control of the House, and keep their Senate majority, they must fight to raise the minimum wage and lift millions of working people out of poverty.

Raising the wage isn’t just good policy: it’s a key to victory. 74% of voters support raising the federal minimum wage to $20 per hour. Every election with minimum wage ballot initiatives has shown that raising the wage floor is politically popular everywhere, even in red states. In fact, for the last 20 years, the overwhelming majority of statewide ballot initiatives to raise the minimum wage have won.

Demand Congress pass the Raise the Wage Act and raise the federal minimum wage and tie it to inflation by adding your name now.