Press Briefing on the $7.25 Federal Minimum Wage

It is hard to ignore that the U.S. federal minimum wage has been frozen at $7.25 per hour since 2009. Yes, it has been 12 years since it was last raised $0.70 from $6.55. Since then, hardworking families—including millions of restaurant workers—have struggled to get by: hundreds of thousands of them live in poverty, rely on public assistance, and experience discrimination and wage theft.

In Michigan, the minimum wage at $9.65 per hour and $3.67 an hour for tipped employees was also frozen this year because of the state’s Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act that prohibits scheduled minimum wage increases. Workers have continued struggling to make ends meet, and this has only gotten worse during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Join the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) of Michigan at a virtual press conference on Friday, July 23rd, at 10:00 am EDT, to hear from restaurant workers, leaders from Black churches and other interfaith groups, elected officials, community allies and voters on why we need to raise the federal minimum wage and provide workers the living wages that they deserve.