Democratic Ohio lawmakers are making another effort to raise the state’s minimum wage.
Ohio House and Senate Democrats are backing a new bill that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. Currently, Ohio's minimum wage is tied to inflation changes, and currently stands at $8.30.
A new report by the progressive-leaning think tank Policy Matters Ohio shows the poorest 30 percent of Ohio’s workers have lost about 40 cents an hour in pay since 1979. Hannah Halbert, of Policy Matters Ohio, says a lot of people can’t make ends meet anymore.
“Seven out of 10 of Ohio’s most common jobs are in occupations that have a median wage less than 130 percent of poverty for a family of three,” Halbert says.
The Democratic lawmakers say they say they know the GOP-dominated legislature is unlikely to embrace it. So they say they’re hoping people will pressure lawmakers, and they’re also not ruling out a ballot issue.
