U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) released the following statement on the 75th anniversary of the Minimum Wage Act.
"On June 25, 1938, President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law a minimum wage standard that would help build America's middle-class. Seventy-five years later, Ohioans who work hard should be able to take care of their families by earning a living wage. But too many Ohioans are working harder than ever -- and barely getting by," said Brown. "Working full-time in a minimum wage job in Ohio pays about $16,000 per year -- which isn't much to live on when you're trying to put food on the table, fill your gas tanks, send your children to school, and provide a safe place for them to live. Ensuring a fair wage is good for middle class families and good for our economy."
Brown is the cosponsor of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage. It would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour from its current $7.25--in three steps of 95 cents--then provide for automatic annual increases linked to changes in the cost of living. The bill would also gradually raise the minimum wage for tipped workers--which currently stands at just $2.13 an hour--for the first time in more than 20 years, to 70 percent of the regular minimum wage.