A groundswell of activism over the last decade is responsible for the massive increase in minimum wages that we’re seeing this year, according to a new report.
The new year brings new, increased wages to a growing number of minimum-wage workers in the United States. While 21 states and 35 cities and counties saw their minimum wages rise for the New Year’s Eve ball drop and into January 1, 2022, a total of “81 jurisdictions—25 states and 56 municipalities—will raise their minimum-wage floors before the end of 2022,” according to a report from the National Employment Law Project.
Here’s a rundown of where the minimum-wage hikes have already gone into effect, and where they’re slated to take effect later.
A record wage increase. The NELP described 2022’s wage increases as a “record,” galvanized largely by years of worker-led “organizing, demanding, and winning higher wages,” the report described. Many of the jurisdictions are upping wages to different levels, but a total of 44 cities and counties will have increased the minimum wage to $15 an hour by the end of the year for at least some employers. In New York State, a rolling phase-in of $15-an-hour has now expanded to include employers in Long Island and Westchester, and California’s state minimum wage will also reach $15 an hour for employers with 26 or more employees.
The hikes implemented by most states and jurisdictions fall short of the $15-an-hour benchmark advocated by labor activists for years. Here’s a...
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