ICYMI: Kentucky Lantern: Bernie Sanders unveils push for $17-an-hour federal minimum wage, citing state increases
Berry Craig
By ARIANA FIGUEROA
Kentucky Lantern
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday announced Democrats’ plans to mark up legislation to increase the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour, pointing to an increase in the cost of living.
Outside the U.S. Capitol, Sanders, a Vermont independent and chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said the panel will vote June 14 on a bill that would increase the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour to $17 an hour over a five-year period.
That goal is a $2-an-hour increase from labor organizers’ past campaign of “Fight for $15.”