HARVARD MODEL CONGRESS SAN FRANCISCO 2015

Transcription

1 HARVARD MODEL CONGRESS SAN FRANCISCO 2015 THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE By Steven Lee INTRODUCTION Protesters call for an increase in wages outside a McDonald s restaurant in Detroit. The number of protests calling on corporations to pay higher wages has steadily grown in the last two years. Source: Paul Sancya Associated Press Fresh off a reelection victory and amidst emerging labor protests across the country, President Barack Obama called on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage during his annual State of the Union address on February Arguing that such a move would raise the incomes of millions of working families, the president proposed the minimum wage be raised from $7.25 to $9.00 an hour. Since the president s call for action, protests for higher wages have continued, targeting Wal-Mart, McDonald s, and other companies, and advocates of the federal increase have convinced states and cities to make similar increases to their minimum wages. Yet, despite President Obama s push and a year of mounting external pressure, Congress has not budged, and the federal minimum wage has remained constant since it was last increased to $7.25 an hour in With state statutory minimum wage rates ranging from $9.50 an hour in the District of Columbia to $0 in five states in the South, politicians across the country remain deeply divided on the level of hourly compensation that should be guaranteed to individuals that are working full-time. But the divide between minimum wage increase supporters and detractors goes beyond politics. Economists remain just as split on whether such an increase would help or hurt the economy; various policy analyses have shown contradictory results. While it is ultimately the job of Congress to regulate the federal minimum wage, it is important for you, as a member of the NEC, to carefully parse through the conflicting studies and assertions, and together propose the right course of action for the country. Should the federal government raise the minimum wage, or should the current level be maintained? Are there other initiatives, such as expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, which might be more effective than a higher minimum wage in fighting income inequality and poverty?

2 EXPLANATION OF THE PROBLEM Historical Background While current employers and employees might take the existence of minimum wage laws for granted, the United States, for most of its history, did not have such a law guaranteeing a baseline hourly wage for workers. From the first state minimum wage law in 1912, to conflicting Supreme Court decisions, the history of minimum wage laws is important to review as you make an informed decision on how Congress should act now. The first law to establish a minimum wage was enacted by Massachusetts in The earliest minimum wage laws did not always apply to all workers. Most laws were designed to protect children and women in the workforce. Minimum Wage and the Supreme Court For more than a hundred years after the founding of the country, state and federal governments were relatively unconcerned with labor conditions. Firms were mostly free to set hours and wages and hire workers as they pleased. That began to change with the turn of the twentieth century as workers increasingly moved to the city to work in factories and women began joining the workforce, bringing with them a push for better working conditions and higher wages. States began establishing regulations on the workplace, often by setting ceilings on working hours and protecting children and women laborers. In 1912, Massachusetts established the first law in the United States that set minimum wages for women and children. However, adherence to that law was largely voluntary as the only penalty for disobeying the minimum wage rule was being publicized as a non-compliant company. Nonetheless, over the next decade, fifteen states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico would all follow suit and establish minimum wage laws targeted at children and women. In protest of the Wage Board tasked with setting the appropriate minimum wage that Congress established in DC, a hospital and an elevator operator took the board members to court, alleging a constitutional violation. Following the precedent on previous cases involving the regulation of working conditions, the Supreme Court ruled in 1923 that minimum wage laws violated the US Constitution. In the 5-3 ruling, the Court explained that by requiring a minimum wage, the government was interfering with the freedom to negotiate contracts, a violation of the Fifth Amendment. Between 1923 and 1937, the Supreme Court struck down four additional minimum wage laws established in other areas of the country. Meanwhile at the federal level, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was in the midst of proposing and passing legislation designed to help alleviate the economy suffering through the Great Depression. Included in one such law, the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, was a provision that had companies and employers establish minimum rates of pay for their SAN FRANCISCO 2015 THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE 2

3 employees. Unfortunately for Roosevelt, the Supreme Court struck down the law just two years later as improper government overreach. West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish a Supreme Court case in 1937 that allowed states to establish minimum wage laws Fair Labor Standards Act a 1938 law that established the federal minimum wage Covered, nonexempt employee term used by the Department of Labor to indicate workers that are affected by federal minimum wage regulations The Birth of the Federal Minimum Wage When Washington s minimum wage law came before the Supreme Court in 1936, there was little indication that the court would decide any differently than they had in the previous five cases involving state minimum wage laws. Furthermore, the court had decided six months prior that a similar law in New York was unconstitutional. However, defying all expectation, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish (1937) that minimum wage laws were allowed under the Constitution, overturning the court s precedent on the issue. Roosevelt saw this shift in the court and his resounding presidential reelection victory in 1936 as a good opportunity to push through minimum wage regulation. Just two months after the Parrish decision, Roosevelt proposed a bill that established a 40 per hour wage floor, a 40-hour workweek, and strict regulations on child labor. Though this initial bill failed in Congress, Roosevelt tried two more times. Eventually, Roosevelt signed into law the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which introduced the first federal minimum wage, set at 25 an hour. Three years later, the Supreme Court upheld the law. That was not the end of Supreme Court involvement in the issue of minimum wage laws. In 1976, the Court ruled that the federal minimum wage established in the Fair Labor Standards Act could not apply to state and local government employees. This decision was ultimately overturned just nine years later. Since the establishment of the Fair Labor Standards Act, Congress has added amendments to the original law to raise the minimum wage or the scope of the law. In one such amendment, Congress in 1961 began to allow retail and service companies to employ students at 15% below the minimum wage. The Current Minimum Wage System As mentioned earlier, $7.25 is the current federal minimum wage rate. A number of factors determine whether this figure applies to a certain worker. One of these factors is whether someone is a covered, nonexempt employee as defined by the Department of Labor. An employee is covered if he or she works for a company that makes more than $500,000 in yearly revenue or a company that engages in interstate commerce. In addition, an employee may be covered if they themselves are engaged in interstate commerce such as using mail or telephones for interstate communication regardless of whether the company is directly engaged in interstate commerce. The Department of Labor has exempted SAN FRANCISCO 2015 THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE 3

4 some categories of workers from federal minimum wage laws, such as those who work as babysitters. Another factor in this determination is whether the worker is under 20 years of age or receives tips as part of his or her occupation. The Fair Labor Standards Act allows companies to pay employees under 20 years of age $4.25 an hour for their first 90 days of work. The act also allows employers to pay as little $2.13 an hour to tipped employees, as long as their total wage, including tip, exceeds the federal minimum wage rate. The final factor that determines whether a person must be paid the federal minimum wage is where he or she is employed. If one is employed in one of the 23 states that has a minimum wage rate that is higher than $7.25, companies must pay that rate as a minimum. For those employed in other states, the federal minimum wage applies. Cities are also free to set minimum wages. If a city s minimum wage is higher than the ones set forth by the state or the federal government, that wage applies. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers a special measure of inflation calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics; places a higher weight on food, apparel, and transportation price changes than other measures of inflation Recent Developments From 1997 to 2007, Congress declined to pass any amendments to increase the minimum wage, marking the longest period that the minimum wage had remained at the same nominal level. In 2007, Congress voted to raise the minimum wage from $4.25 to $5.85, and eventually to $7.25 in Since challenging Congress to raise the minimum wage to $9.00 per hour, President Obama has increased his recommendation for a minimum wage target. In February 2014, the president signed an executive order requiring all companies who contract with the federal government to pay a minimum hourly wage of $10.10 by The executive order further stipulated that this new minimum wage for government contractors be increased every year according to changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Some state and local governments have also proceeded on their own in raising the minimum wage. For example, recent legislation approved in Connecticut is set to raise its minimum wage to the target recommended by the president by Some municipalities have gone even further. A recent ordinance passed by the city of Seattle increased the city s minimum wage to $15 an hour, with the hike set to go into effect as quickly as three years for some businesses. Other cities, such as San Francisco, are considering a similar increase for their own cities. Congressional Action While Congress has not passed a minimum wage bill into law since voting on the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 that established the current federal minimum wage, members of Congress have submitted numerous bills for consideration that would increase that rate. The most substantial of SAN FRANCISCO 2015 THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE 4

5 these efforts was led by Representative George Miller (D-CA) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), who submitted the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 to both chambers of Congress in March The bill called for the minimum wage rate to rise to $8.20 per hour three months after its enactment, gradually leading up to $10.10 per hour two years afterwards. After the increase to $10.10, the minimum wage would increase based on the CPI-W. Almost a year later, Senator Harkin introduced an almost identical bill for Senate consideration. An indication of the divisiveness of the issue, the vote to proceed on that bill failed on party lines, with all but one Republican senator voting against proceeding on the measure. FOCUS OF THE DEBATE In the last congressional action on the federal minimum wage, a motion to proceed on a bill to increase the minimum wage failed in the Senate in early Conservative View Conservatives are generally opposed to an increase in the federal minimum wage. As champions of the free market and free enterprise, conservatives are often skeptical of government involvement such as the minimum wage in the economy. Some conservatives argue that placing restrictions on wages that employers can pay to potential employees could hamper economic growth. Moreover, many conservatives argue that raising the minimum wage would reduce job growth and produce higher unemployment rates. Instead of paying the mandated higher wage to their minimum wage workers, firms might find it more profitable to lay off those workers instead. Companies would be less productive and fewer people would have jobs, causing problems for the economy. In this situation, as some conservatives argue, the minimum wage would hurt, not help, the working poor. Instead of boosting the incomes of the poor, those individuals could potentially be laid off instead. Some conservatives have even called for abolishing the federal minimum wage. Thus, conservatives would rather see an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which gives money to individuals who have low incomes. Liberal View Liberals are almost united in their support for an increase in the minimum wage. They point out that because the federal minimum wage is not tied to any measure of inflation, it is continuously decreasing in value. Many liberals are quick to point out that, in terms of current dollars, the federal minimum wage was higher under the Reagan Administration than it is now currently. SAN FRANCISCO 2015 THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE 5

6 Living wage income necessary for an individual to meet their basic needs Liberals see raising the minimum wage as a way to reduce poverty and income inequality. Many point out that while worker productivity has quickly risen since World War II, minimum wages have on average remained the same. Some argue that raising the minimum wage would have a negligible impact on employment levels and a positive impact on the overall economy. According to the argument, a rise in the minimum wage would increase wages for millions of workers who would then in turn use that money to consume goods, spurring the economy. Furthermore, liberals point out that compared to other developed countries, the value of the US minimum wage is a smaller percentage of the national median wage. While most liberals would be content with a $10.10 an hour minimum wage that would be consistent with the rates from the 1960s and 1970s, others have called for the minimum wage to be $15 an hour as part of a living wage. Finally, liberals would prefer that any future minimum wage would be automatically determined by changes in inflation. Most liberals see this as fair for both employees and employers while also convenient for future lawmakers to not have to argue for a minimum wage increase every year. Presidential View President Obama has been fully supportive of the liberal position on this issue. The president made raising the minimum wage to $9.50 a promise during his first campaign and has since called for the minimum wage to be increased to $9 an hour and to $10.10 an hour. The president has not specifically supported raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour as some in his party would suggest. As mentioned earlier, the president signed an executive order to raise the minimum wage of all government contractors to $10.10 an hour and tie all future increases to inflation. Interest Group Perspectives United States Chamber of Commerce One of the largest political lobbying groups in the United States, the US Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is a business advocacy group staunchly opposed to increases to the minimum wage. Similar to conservative arguments, members affiliated with the USCC contend that raising the minimum wage would place undue burden on small businesses and be damaging to the overall economy. As the main lobbying group representing general business interests, the USCC points out that firms would hurt the most due to the increase in operating costs, restricting their ability to hire and compete with foreign companies. Ultimately, the USCC would prefer the federal government make changes to other programs like the EITC and the Additional Child SAN FRANCISCO 2015 THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE 6

7 Tax Credit rather than dictate how much businesses should pay their employees. American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a federation of labor unions in the United States. As the umbrella organization for labor unions, the AFL-CIO supports increasing the minimum wage. AFL-CIO organizers contend that it is nearly impossible to live on income from a full-time, minimum-wage paying job. Furthermore, they point out that if the minimum wage were tied to the growth in worker productivity, the minimum wage would be $18.67 an hour as of Some AFL-CIO members argue strongly for an increase in minimum wages to $15 an hour. They argue that even at $10.10 an hour, minimumwage workers would be reliant on food stamps and other anti-poverty programs. Thus, they argue that raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour would help ameliorate poverty and allow all full-time employees to lead a decent life. James A. Dorn (left), vice president for academic affairs at the Cato Institute, argues in a debate that the minimum wage should be abolished. Source: Adelade Mandeville Intelligence Squared U.S. Cato Institute Like conservative politicians and the USCC, the Cato Institute opposes raising the minimum wage. In its most recent policy analysis on the subject, titled The Negative Effects of Minimum Wage Laws, Mark Wilson of the Cato Institute argues that businesses would not absorb the costs of a higher minimum wage through a hit in profits but would instead fire employees, cut worker hours, and reduce benefits. Wilson points out that in this case, young workers and minorities would be especially affected, the same groups of workers that lawmakers are aiming to help. Some members of the Cato Institute have called for the abolishment of the minimum wage for this reason. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS The potential directions for Congress are clear, but the one that would be most beneficial for the country is not so clear. Congress can choose to raise the federal minimum wage, abolish it, or leave it at current levels. But by how much should Congress raise the minimum wage? If the minimum wage is abolished, should Congress increase funding to other programs to aid the poor? SAN FRANCISCO 2015 THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE 7

8 Economists are divided on whether the minimum wage decreases employment. Raise the Federal Minimum Wage Congress could simply raise the minimum wage. Though Washington remains deeply divided on this solution, such a move would be popular. Recent polls show consistently that at least two-thirds of Americans support some increase in the minimum wage. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) estimated in its most recent paper analyzing a potential federal minimum wage increase that increasing the hourly minimum wage to $10.10 would bring single parent, minimum wage workers above the poverty line. Furthermore, the EPI contends that 16.7 million workers would directly see their wages increase with such a hike while an estimated 11.1 million workers would also see their wages increase as employers adjust their overall pay scales. The EPI estimates that this wage increase would boost the economy by $22.1 billion, supporting an additional 85,000 jobs. As the proposed Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 would do, the minimum wage would increase gradually before it actually hit $10.10 an hour. As mentioned earlier, one of the main conservative arguments against the minimum wage is that it could drive down employment as firms fire workers rather than paying them the higher wage. However, proponents of raising the minimum wage point to economic research that compared fastfood restaurant employment in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. While initially New Jersey and Pennsylvania had the same minimum wage, New Jersey had increased its rate from $4.25 to $5.05. The economists David Card and Alan B. Krueger found that despite the increase, there were negligible changes in employment between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Abolish the Minimum Wage or Keep it at Current Level Alternatively, Congress could abolish the minimum wage. Though no formal bill has been introduced in either chamber to this effect, Republicans both publically and privately have decried the minimum wage and sometimes called for its abolition. Proponents for such a move say that the minimum wage is actually hurting the poor and that a minimum wage hike would not be beneficial to the individuals that supporters imagine it would help. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a third of minimum-wage workers are teenagers. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, found that the average household income for individuals working minimum wage is $42,000 per year, which would only be considered income below the poverty line if the worker were single with 8 or more children. Detractors of the minimum wage are not without academic evidence to support their theories. In fact, while some studies show that the minimum wage have negligible effects on employment, a substantial number of studies actually show that employment falls with a rise in the minimum wage. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that with an increase in the SAN FRANCISCO 2015 THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE 8

9 minimum wage to $10.10 by 2016, the number of people below the poverty line would decrease by 900,000 but employment would fall by around 500,000. Even with an increase to $9, employment would fall by 100,000. Of the inflation measures calculated by the Department of Labor, CPI-W, CPI-U, and Chained CPI are the most widely used. Due to the unique way Chained CPI is calculated, it tends to report lower levels of inflation than the other measures. Tie the Minimum Wage to Measures of Inflation Congress must also determine, as a separate issue, whether to allow the minimum wage rate to automatically increase based on inflation. One criticism of the current minimum wage system is that if left alone, the real value of the minimum wage slowly decreases over time as general price levels rise. Such a system would cause minimum wages to be highly dependent on gridlock and political forces rather than economic ones. Instead, if the federal minimum wage increased with inflation, the status quo value would be firmly set for the future with manual changes only needed in emergency scenarios. One potential problem with this solution is establishing the best measure of inflation to tether the minimum wage. While Democrats prefer using the CPI-W measure that is tailored for changes in prices for workers, other measures, such as the CPI for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) changes in prices for urban households or the Chained CPI for all Urban Consumers, which changes in formula as people s consumption behavior changes, are alternative options. In particular, the Chained CPI tends to produce lower inflation levels. The theory behind the measure is that if prices for good A increases dramatically compared to good B, people will stop purchasing good A and purchase more of good B. Thus, they are less affected by the increase in good A s prices. CPI-W and CPI-U does not take this into account. Consider Expanding Alternative Programs A final option to solve this issue is to expand a completely different poverty program. One popular program that is frequently cited as a better program to reduce poverty is the Earned Income Tax Credit. Though liberals argue that the EITC and the minimum wage serve different functions and changes in one should not mean no change in the other, unlike the minimum wage, politicians across ideologies largely view the EITC as beneficial to the country. Though the EITC program could be described in a briefing on its own, a quick overview of the program will be beneficial for NEC members. At the most basic level, the EITC gives tax credits, essentially cash, to low- and middle-income working families. The EITC differs from other anti-poverty programs in that up to a certain level of income, the benefits increase as the family makes more money. At a certain level, benefits will plateau, as more income will not earn more benefits. Finally, after a certain income threshold, benefits start to decrease until the benefits disappear. However, the initial escalating benefit structure of the EITC encourages people to SAN FRANCISCO 2015 THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE 9

10 work and to work harder. The amount of benefits given out also depends on whether the individual is married or single and on the number of children. Benefit levels increase with the number of children, up to a total of three children. Those that are married have a longer plateau than those that are single, allowing workers in the former situation to enjoy maximum benefits at higher incomes. One area for expansion for the EITC is in its treatment of families without any children. For instance, a married family of four with a household income of $40,000 would have received $1758 in EITC benefits in 2013 while a married family of two with a household income of $20,000 would have received no EITC benefits. As of 2013, the highest EITC amount that a married couple with no children was eligible for was just $487. Raising the EITC amount for those with no children could be a possible substitute for raising the minimum wage. QUESTIONS FOR POLICYMAKERS For minimum wage, the solutions are quite simple but the issue itself is not. As a member of the NEC, you must tread carefully, considering all the competing academic evidence as well as the division between liberals and conservatives on this issue. Does raising the minimum wage really help the poor? How significantly does it affect employment levels? Would the EITC be a better vehicle to raise people out of poverty? If employment levels are affected, what is the right balanced between those that are helped by the minimum wage increase and those that are laid off? CONCLUSION 3.6 million workers are paid at or below the minimum wage in the United States. While that represents only about 1% of the US population, many more live as children of parents who work minimum wage jobs. For more than five years, the minimum wage has remained at $7.25 as inflation slowly erodes away its value. With this stagnation have come labor protests across the country. States and cities have moved forward with their own proposal to change their own minimum wage laws. The federal government must make a choice whether to join these states and raise the minimum wage. Action could mean a hit on the economy and employment levels while inaction could lead to more and more impoverished workers. The NEC must chart the best future path for the federal minimum wage. SAN FRANCISCO 2015 THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE 10

11 GUIDE TO FURTHER RESEARCH Delegates should do their own research into the minimum wage structure in the United States. Though this briefing mentioned a couple of studies that analyzed the potential economic effects of a minimum wage increase, a considerable number of other papers and studies exist that look more closely at the issue. Take note of any news articles that mention states or localities that are considering minimum wage increases. If delegates are even more ambitious, read articles about the Earned Income Tax Credit. Though not the focus of this briefing, knowledge of the EITC could come in handy in producing a reform package that would increase the minimum wage by less than that recommended by liberals but at the same time expanding the EITC. BIBLIOGRAPHY Adkins v. Children's Hospital of District of Columbia. 261 US 525. Supreme Court of the US FindLaw. Thomson Reuters, N.d. Web. Associated Press. "Connecticut Is Increasing Minimum Wage to $10.10 an Hour." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 26 Mar Web. Card, David, and Alan B. Krueger. "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania." American Economic Review 84.4 (1994): Web. < "Cloture on S. 2223: Minimum Wage Fairness Act -- Senate Vote # Apr 30, 2014." GovTrack.us. Civic Impulse. Web. < Congressional Budget Office. The Effects of a Minimum-Wage Increase on Employment and Family Income. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Budget Office, Web. < MinimumWage.pdf>. Cooper, David. "Raising the Federal Minimum Wage to $10.10 Would Lift Wages for Millions and Provide a Modest Economic Boost." Economic Policy Institute. Economic Policy Institute. Web. < 1010/>. SAN FRANCISCO 2015 THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE 11

12 Exec. Order No , 3 C.F.R. (2014). Foster, J.D. "A Better Approach Than the Minimum Wage Distraction." U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 10 Jan Web. "Frequently Asked Questions." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web. < Greenhouse, Steven. "Wal-Mart Labor Protests Grow, Organizers Say." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 09 Oct Web. Grossman, Jonathan. "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938: Maximum Struggle for a Minimum Wage." United States Department of Labor. United States Department of Labor. Web. < "History of Changes to the Minimum Wage Law." United States Department of Labor. United States Department of Labor. Web. < Lagos, Maris. "S.F. to Put $15 Minimum Wage on Ballot." SFGate. Hearst Communications, 11 June Web. Lowrey, Annie. "Raising Minimum Wage Would Ease Income Gap but Carries Political Risks." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 12 Feb Web. "Minimum Wage." AFL-CIO. AFL-CIO. Web. "Minimum Wage Laws in the States." United States Department of Labor. United States Department of Labor. Web. < "Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees." United States Department of Labor. United States Department of Labor. Web. < NPR Staff. "Should We Abolish The Minimum Wage?" NPR. NPR, N.d. Web. Remarks by the President in the State of the Union Address. The White House. Office of the Press Secretary, 12 Feb Web. < SAN FRANCISCO 2015 THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE 12

13 "S Minimum Wage Fairness Act." Congress.gov. Library of Congress. Web. < "S Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013." Congress.gov. Library of Congress. Web. < Sherk, James. "What Is Minimum Wage: Its History and Effects on the Economy." The Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation, 26 June Web. < Thies, Clifford F. "The First Minimum Wage Laws." Cato Journal 10.3 (1991): Web. < "Trickle-up Economics." Economist 16 Feb The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 16 Feb Web. Weissmann, Jordan. "Should We Raise the Minimum Wage? 11 Questions and Answers." The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group, 16 Dec Web. Wilson, Mark. The Negative Effects of Minimum Wage Laws. Issue Brief No Cato Institute, 21 June Web. "Work." PollingReport.com. Polling Report. Web. 13 Aug < SAN FRANCISCO 2015 THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE 13