Question 1

What is the Living Wage For All Act?

Accepted Answer

The Living Wage For All Act (H.R. 8555) is a federal bill that would raise the U.S. minimum wage to $25 an hour for every worker, with no subminimum wages. Tipped workers, workers with disabilities, incarcerated workers, and youth workers would all earn the full minimum wage. It was introduced in Congress on April 28, 2026, by Rep. Delia Ramirez (IL-03) and co-led by Reps. Analilia Mejía, Chuy García, and Lateefah Simon. As of May 2026, it has 28 cosponsors and 100+ organizational endorsers including SEIU, AFT, NEA, RWDSU, and the NAACP.

Question 2

Why $25 an hour?

Accepted Answer

$25 is the wage Americans say a worker needs just to get by — voters say $26/hour unprompted in national polling. The MIT Living Wage Calculator shows that $25 is the minimum a single adult needs to cover basic costs, even in America's lowest-cost counties. If the minimum wage had kept pace with worker productivity since 1968, it would already be over $26/hour today. $25 is the wage workers already earned.

Question 3

Why does the federal minimum wage need to be raised?

Accepted Answer

The federal minimum wage has been frozen at $7.25 since 2009 — the longest stretch without a raise in U.S. history. The federal tipped wage has been frozen at $2.13 since 1991. Meanwhile, consumer prices have risen in 75 of the past 78 years. Half of America earns less than $25 an hour, and full-time work no longer covers rent, food, and basic necessities. Inflation isn't crushing families — stagnant wages are.

Question 4

What is the subminimum wage and why does the Living Wage For All Act end it?

Accepted Answer

The subminimum wage is a legally-permitted lower minimum wage for tipped workers, workers with disabilities, incarcerated workers, and youth workers. The federal tipped subminimum wage is just $2.13/hour, frozen since 1991. These exclusions are direct legacies of slavery and racial discrimination — the National Restaurant Association lobbied to exclude tipped workers (most of them Black and newly freed) from the original Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938. The Living Wage For All Act ends all subminimum wages: tipped workers earn the full minimum wage with tips on top.

Question 5

Which states are running Living Wage For All campaigns?

Accepted Answer

The Living Wage For All Coalition has 10 active campaigns across 9 states: New York ($30 statewide), California (Alameda County $30 ballot measure and Los Angeles $30 signature campaign), Illinois ($27 statewide), Washington DC ($25 ballot measure), Maryland ($25 in Baltimore City), Michigan (building toward $25 in 2028), Pennsylvania ($25 legislation), Hawaii (constitutional amendment + $30 legislation), and Connecticut ($25 statewide, launching summer 2026). Together these campaigns cover 17 million workers.

Question 6

Does raising the minimum wage hurt jobs or small businesses?

Accepted Answer

No. In every state that has ended the subminimum wage for tipped workers, documented negative employment impacts have been zero. After DC's Initiative 82 raised the tipped minimum wage, DC hit the highest restaurant employment ever recorded — 30,633 jobs in April 2025, the highest since recordkeeping began in 1990. Chicago issued 856 new restaurant licenses after implementing One Fair Wage, with the license renewal rate unchanged and cancellations down 50%. 61% of small business owners now support raising the minimum wage.

Question 7

How can I support Living Wage For All?

Accepted Answer

Four ways: (1) Sign on as an organizational endorser at livingwageforall.org/endorse. (2) Join the movement and stay updated at livingwageforall.org/join. (3) Ask your Member of Congress to cosponsor H.R. 8555, the Living Wage For All Act. (4) Find and support your state's campaign at livingwageforall.org — there are 10 active campaigns across 9 states.

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