(Washington, DC) Mayor Bowser today marked the second increase to DC’s minimum wage under the #Fightfor15 legislation that she introduced in 2016. Effective July 1, 2018, the minimum wage for District workers will increase from $12.50 per hour to $13.25 per hour, and the minimum wage for tipped workers will increase from $3.33 per hour to $3.89 per hour.

“The Fight for $15 has always been about creating pathways to the middle class and giving more Washingtonians a fair shot,” said Mayor Bowser. “We are going to keep finding ways to connect DC residents to DC jobs, and when they get those jobs, we’re making sure they’ll get paid a fair wage. That’s how we make prosperity in our city more inclusive.”   

In the Mayor’s 2016 State of the District Address, she promised to send legislation to the DC Council to increase DC’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2020. On June 21, 2016, the DC Council voted unanimously to pass the Fair Shot Minimum Wage Amendment Act of 2016. Under the law, the minimum wage will increase to $15.00 per hour by 2020, and will increase each successive year beginning in 2021 in proportion to the increase in the Consumer Price Index.

“What Mayor Bowser and her Administration are doing for working families is in line with what AFSCME stands for: Living Wages for Working Families,” said AFSCME Local 2091 Vice President and AFSCME District Council 20 PEOPLES Chair Andre Lee. “AFSCME stood with Mayor Bowser when she marked the first increase last year, and we stand with the Mayor now as she marks the next step towards $15 an hour.”