Across the country, grassroots campaigns, most prominently Fight for 15, have pushed governments to increase the minimum wage, and companies to take the initiative to raise them even if they aren’t required to. States like New York and California have set a $15 minimum wage, as have cities like Seattle. In the last year, Amazon announced $15-per-hour as its wage floor. But despite this momentum, the federal minimum wage has not increased since 2009, when it was set at $7.25 per hour. After so many years of stagnation, inflation has eroded the value of this hourly pay to just $6.19. Over the past decade, too, the cost of living in the U.S. has continued to rise, leaving families dependent on the minimum wage struggling. READ MORE