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Demonstrators rally in support of raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. (Photo: United Healthcare Workers East-Maryland/DC Division)
From 'Too Radical' to Spreading Nationwide: Maryland Becomes 6th State to Pass $15 Minimum Wage
"We're not done. Next we will pass a national $15 minimum wage," said Sen. Bernie Sanders
Mar 29, 2019
In the latest major victory for the Fight for $15 movement, Maryland on Thursday became the sixth state to pass $15 minimum wage legislation after lawmakers overrode the veto of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.
"Just a few years ago we were told a $15 an hour was 'too radical. Well, today, Maryland became the sixth state to send the loud and clear message that a job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
"More than six years ago, when we stood up and went on strike for $15 an hour and a union, our demands were dismissed," Fight for $15 said in a statement. "But we kept marching and we kept fighting, forcing the country to see that we simply could not survive on $7.25."
"Maryland is the sixth state to pass a $15 minimum wage--and the third in under two months," Fight for $15 continued, referring to Illinois and New Jersey's recent minimum wage hikes. "Nearly 30 percent of U.S. workers are now coSvered by a $15 minimum wage. It's clear $15 an hour is the minimum any worker, anywhere, needs to get by, and we'll keep standing up and fighting for $15 and union rights until we win everywhere."
Under Maryland's new law, the higher minimum will be phased in over several years, reaching $15 an hour for companies with 15 or more employees by 2025. Smaller companies will have to pay their workers $15 an hour by 2026.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)--the lead Senate sponsor of the Raise the Wage Act, which would hike the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024--applauded Maryland lawmakers for taking action.
"Just a few years ago we were told a $15 an hour was 'too radical," the senator and 2020 presidential candidate tweeted Thursday. "Well, today, Maryland became the sixth state to send the loud and clear message that a job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it."
"We're not done," Sanders added. "Next we will pass a national $15 minimum wage."
Maryland's passage of $15 minimum wage legislation comes as centrist Democrats are reportedly threatening to oppose the House version of the Raise the Wage Act, led by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.).
Scott's legislation is currently co-sponsored by over 200 House Democrats.
According to the National Employment Law Project (NELP), raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour "would lift pay for a quarter of all workers in the United States, including those in the 21 states stuck at the current federal level of $7.25."
"The victory in Maryland... underscores that $15 is the new mainstream consensus in the United States," Christine Owens, NELP's executive director, said in a statement Thursday. "Workers are facing the same spiraling costs of living everywhere and we're seeing voters demand progressive leadership on economic and other issues."
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In the latest major victory for the Fight for $15 movement, Maryland on Thursday became the sixth state to pass $15 minimum wage legislation after lawmakers overrode the veto of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.
"Just a few years ago we were told a $15 an hour was 'too radical. Well, today, Maryland became the sixth state to send the loud and clear message that a job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
"More than six years ago, when we stood up and went on strike for $15 an hour and a union, our demands were dismissed," Fight for $15 said in a statement. "But we kept marching and we kept fighting, forcing the country to see that we simply could not survive on $7.25."
"Maryland is the sixth state to pass a $15 minimum wage--and the third in under two months," Fight for $15 continued, referring to Illinois and New Jersey's recent minimum wage hikes. "Nearly 30 percent of U.S. workers are now coSvered by a $15 minimum wage. It's clear $15 an hour is the minimum any worker, anywhere, needs to get by, and we'll keep standing up and fighting for $15 and union rights until we win everywhere."
Under Maryland's new law, the higher minimum will be phased in over several years, reaching $15 an hour for companies with 15 or more employees by 2025. Smaller companies will have to pay their workers $15 an hour by 2026.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)--the lead Senate sponsor of the Raise the Wage Act, which would hike the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024--applauded Maryland lawmakers for taking action.
"Just a few years ago we were told a $15 an hour was 'too radical," the senator and 2020 presidential candidate tweeted Thursday. "Well, today, Maryland became the sixth state to send the loud and clear message that a job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it."
"We're not done," Sanders added. "Next we will pass a national $15 minimum wage."
Maryland's passage of $15 minimum wage legislation comes as centrist Democrats are reportedly threatening to oppose the House version of the Raise the Wage Act, led by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.).
Scott's legislation is currently co-sponsored by over 200 House Democrats.
According to the National Employment Law Project (NELP), raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour "would lift pay for a quarter of all workers in the United States, including those in the 21 states stuck at the current federal level of $7.25."
"The victory in Maryland... underscores that $15 is the new mainstream consensus in the United States," Christine Owens, NELP's executive director, said in a statement Thursday. "Workers are facing the same spiraling costs of living everywhere and we're seeing voters demand progressive leadership on economic and other issues."
In the latest major victory for the Fight for $15 movement, Maryland on Thursday became the sixth state to pass $15 minimum wage legislation after lawmakers overrode the veto of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.
"Just a few years ago we were told a $15 an hour was 'too radical. Well, today, Maryland became the sixth state to send the loud and clear message that a job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
"More than six years ago, when we stood up and went on strike for $15 an hour and a union, our demands were dismissed," Fight for $15 said in a statement. "But we kept marching and we kept fighting, forcing the country to see that we simply could not survive on $7.25."
"Maryland is the sixth state to pass a $15 minimum wage--and the third in under two months," Fight for $15 continued, referring to Illinois and New Jersey's recent minimum wage hikes. "Nearly 30 percent of U.S. workers are now coSvered by a $15 minimum wage. It's clear $15 an hour is the minimum any worker, anywhere, needs to get by, and we'll keep standing up and fighting for $15 and union rights until we win everywhere."
Under Maryland's new law, the higher minimum will be phased in over several years, reaching $15 an hour for companies with 15 or more employees by 2025. Smaller companies will have to pay their workers $15 an hour by 2026.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)--the lead Senate sponsor of the Raise the Wage Act, which would hike the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024--applauded Maryland lawmakers for taking action.
"Just a few years ago we were told a $15 an hour was 'too radical," the senator and 2020 presidential candidate tweeted Thursday. "Well, today, Maryland became the sixth state to send the loud and clear message that a job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it."
"We're not done," Sanders added. "Next we will pass a national $15 minimum wage."
Maryland's passage of $15 minimum wage legislation comes as centrist Democrats are reportedly threatening to oppose the House version of the Raise the Wage Act, led by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.).
Scott's legislation is currently co-sponsored by over 200 House Democrats.
According to the National Employment Law Project (NELP), raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour "would lift pay for a quarter of all workers in the United States, including those in the 21 states stuck at the current federal level of $7.25."
"The victory in Maryland... underscores that $15 is the new mainstream consensus in the United States," Christine Owens, NELP's executive director, said in a statement Thursday. "Workers are facing the same spiraling costs of living everywhere and we're seeing voters demand progressive leadership on economic and other issues."
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