Sixteen years since it last issued a mandatory minimum wage — or, put another way, after almost two decades of protests, lobbying and legal wrangling — the State of Florida as of today must adhere to new minimum-wage laws.
The last time Florida enacted a minimum-rate law was in 2004, when the state capped it at $6.15 per hour.
The state this week has approved an hourly rate of $10 — and, for tipped workers, from $8.65 an hour to $10 — but workers and their unions have their eyes on a $15-an-hour national standard.
It’s been — and continues to be — a long, hard fight for U.S. workers to earn a fair, living wage, and the struggle continues all over the country, said to be the world’s largest economy.
How do you see it?