Brits Raise Minimum Wage, U.S. and Utah Lag

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) Workers in England will soon be earning a minimum wage equivalent to ten-sixty-two and hour. But efforts to boost the U.S. minimum wage above five-fifteen are languishing in Congress. Glenn Bailey, director of the Crossroads Urban Center, says Utah lawmakers used that as an excuse to quote "duck the issue completely."

Two bills were introduced during the recent legislative session to raise the minimum wage in Utah above seven dollars and put it to a vote of the people. Neither was given a hearing in committee. Last year state lawmakers opted to fund a study to determine if raising the minimum wage would be necessary. Community advocate Pamela Atkinson oversaw that study, but says the results were skewed by Utah's booming economy. With record low unemployment rates, even fast food chains in the Beehive State are paying above seven dollars an hour.

Atkinson notes that could change if the economy slows, and she adds there are still thousands of Utahns earning the minimum five-fifteen an hour. A bill to raise that to seven-twenty five is stuck in negotiations between the U.S. House and Senate.

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