OREGON, Wis. (CBS 58) – Democratic lawmakers at the Wisconsin State Capitol announced a proposal to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour with a scheduled path to reach $20 per hour by 2030.
Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) and Rep. Angelina Cruz (D-Racine) say Wisconsin’s minimum wage has remained the same for 17 years at $7.25 hourly, the same as the federal minimum wage. As service industry workers face economic hardships, Democrats say increasing their pay would help people meet basic living costs.
“We’re here because nobody working 40 hours a week should be living in poverty should be struggling to put food on the table,” Roys said on Tuesday, Feb 24. “Wisconsinites believe an honest day's work should mean an honest day’s pay.”
Under this bill, the minimum wage would increase to $15 per hour upon enactment, then rise by $1.25 annually until it reaches $20 per hour in 2030. After that, it would be indexed to inflation. The tipped wage would increase to 50% of the minimum wage and creates a slower phase-in schedule for small businesses with 50 or fewer employees.
However, the owner of Sonny’s Kitchen in Oregon says he worries small businesses would have to respond to increased wages by raising prices for customers.
“Everyone likes to get a raise, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do,” Sonny Kasa, owner of Sonny’s Kitchen.
“Where does that money come from? The money comes from raising prices,” said Country Wagner, a server at Sonny’s Kitchen. “What are the downfalls of that? We raise our prices, our customer base goes down.”
Wisconsin’s minimum wage is lower than the minimum wage in Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois.
The Wisconsin State Assembly had what was expected to be their final session of the year last week, so it’s not likely this bill would be taken up this year. However, with Democrats having a chance to win control of one or both chambers after this upcoming election cycle, this could be one of the proposals pushed in 2027.