Labor unions and worker advocates are pushing state lawmakers to implement the highest minimum wage in the nation at $20 an hour, just two months after Massachusetts raised the rate to $15.

Why it matters: Inflation has taken a big bite out of the buying power of a $15 wage, and that's not lost on the key stakeholders who could lead the effort to increase the pay floor.

State of play: Beacon Hill lawmakers played a key role designing a law that satisfied labor activists and employers the last time the wage floor was lifted. But if leading Democrats don't get behind another deal, pro-wage advocates could go to war with the business class with a ballot question that will let voters decide.

Flashback: As part of the 2018 “grand bargain” between worker advocates and business leaders, Massachusetts raised the minimum wage incrementally from $11 to $15 between 2019 and the beginning of this year.

• Labor advocates secured the wage hike and 12 weeks of paid leave for every worker. Employers got a permanent annual sales tax holiday and the elimination of time-and-a-half pay for Sundays.
• But the final deal didn't index the minimum wage to inflation.

What we're watching: Five years later, the dollar is worth nearly 20% less than it was in 2018, and labor advocates are again asking to permanently fix the minimum wage to inflation.

• The Raise Up Coalition, the alliance of grassroots groups and deep-pocketed organized labor unions that won the $15 wage, are backing new proposals for a...

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