By Jim Randle
Voice of America, July 20, 2017

WASHINGTON — A study by the Economic Policy Institute says the chief executive officers of America's largest firms were paid an average of $15.6 million each in 2016.

In a report published Thursday, authors Lawrence Mischel and Jessica Schieder say that amount is 271 times as much as a "typical" worker's earnings at those same corporations. That ... is still "light years" higher than the 20-to-1 gap between workers and bosses in 1965, or the 59-to-1 difference that was measured in 1989. ...

At the other end...

By Charisse Jones and Kellie Ell
USA TODAY, July 14, 2017

After her state's minimum wage rose in January to $9 from $7.50 an hour, Kathy Rondone got an extra $20 a week in her paycheck. "To me that's not coffee money or spare change,'' says Rondone, an administrative assistant who lives in Augusta, Maine. "It is a set of windshield wipers when mine broke in a storm last February. ... It's a really big deal.'' 

Working Americans still looking for a raise should look to their state and local governments for help. As the nation heads into a...

By Bill O’Boyle
Times Leader, July 6, 2017

WILKES-BARRE — The minimum wage has not increased in Pennsylvania in about a decade, and a group gathered at City Hall on Thursday believes a hike is long overdue. Speakers at the rally said raising the $7.25-per-hour minimum rate is a critical step to increase the earnings of workers in Pennsylvania. It would also provide additional income tax revenue while ensuring that working families have access to basic needs, they argued.

State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, said a person earning minimum wage makes $15,080 per year...

By Alex Rose
Delaware County Daily Times, July 6, 2017

Media, PA - Members of the Service Employees International Union Local 668 joined elected officials and representatives of small business on the steps of the county courthouse Thursday to rally for an increase in the state’s minimum wage. ... Pennsylvania matches the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for non-tipped employees. Gov. Tom Wolf vowed in February to increase the minimum wage to $12 an hour. State Rep. Patty Kim, D-103, of Dauphin County, has introduced a bill that would ... bring the minimum wage up to...

Many families earning minimum wage are living below the poverty line.

PA Homepage Eyewitness News WBRE and WYOU, July 6, 2017

WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)- Rallies across Pennsylvania today calling for an increase in the state's minimum wage. That rate now stands at $7.25 per hour.

The folks at one rally in Wilkes-Barre say the minimum wage at its current level is barely enough to make ends meet. In fact, many families earning minimum wage are living below the poverty line.

They came from all over Northeastern Pennsylvania to urge people to support House Bill 1520...

By Monica Stabile
Springfield Business Journal, July 5, 2017

The Illinois General Assembly’s approval last month of a measure to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour over a five-year period has drawn mixed reviews among the business community. ...

Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a national group comprised of business owners who support gradually raising the minimum wage to at least $12 per hour by [2020], says that workers who earn more money drive the economy by spending more, leading businesses to see a rise in consumer demand, resulting in job creation....

By Natalie Kitroeff
Los Angeles Times, July 1, 2017

More than half a million Angelenos stand to get a raise this weekend, making the city the latest testing ground in the drive to boost incomes of bottom-rung workers. ...

By Julia Horowitz
CNN Money, June 30, 2017

A lot of Americans are getting a raise this holiday weekend. Minimum wage hikes take effect Saturday in cities, counties and states across the country.

Interview by Jaisal Noor
Real News Network, June 30, 2017

Economic Policy Institute's Ben Zipperer and small business owner Andrew Buerger discuss the overwhelming data that shows minimum wage increases don't hurt employment, and why uplifting workers also has broader benefits.

Op-Ed By John Traynor, Owner, Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center, The Kitchen & Gallery Bar
Pennsylvania's minimum wage is stuck in the past and that's bad for business. ...

By Nick Perez
Sacramento Bee, June 28, 2017

On July 1, the minimum wage will increase in Oregon, Maryland and Washington, D.C. – but California will still have fourth-highest minimum wage in the country.

By Cole Lauterbach
Illinois News Network, June 26, 2017

Gov. Bruce Rauner has received a bill that would set a $15 minimum wage in Illinois, tying the Prairie State for the highest rate in the nation.

WBEZ-FM Radio, June 22, 2017

LISTEN

Business owners want Governor Bruce Rauner to sign a bill to increase Illinois's minimum wage. The legislation passed last month that eventually would raise Illinois' minimum wage to $15 an hour by the year 2022. David Borris owns Hel's Kitchen, a catering company in suburban Northbrook. "If they want to enact enlightened public policy, which we are one signature away from doing, right, we would recognize the idea that rising wages is good for all small businesses and even good for big business too." Borris says a higher wage would increase worker retention and lower turnover costs.
 

By Greg Hinz
Crain's Chicago Business, June 21, 2017

Much of the state's business community is vehemently opposed to a bill now on its way to Gov. Bruce Rauner that would hike the state's minimum wage to $15 by 2022. But some firms are all in favor, and they're revving up a campaign to get Rauner to go along.

In a conference call today, owners of three Illinois companies, all in the consumer field where cost-cutting is particularly important, say they've learned that there are distinct advantages to them and their customers to keeping labor happy.

Kelly...

By Tierney Plumb
Eater, June 6, 2017

Michael Lastoria, co-founder and CEO of burgeoning chain &pizza, provided attendees at the sold-out MCON, a millennial conference about social movements, on Tuesday with a break down of where his homegrown restaurant is headed — highlighting how he’s already beating some major players in the fast-casual food scene. The crash course in pizzanomics took place at MCON, the socio-political gathering that drew about 1,000 to the Newseum this week ... In true millennial fashion, here are some quick-hit business stats Lasotoria shared on June 6. ...

Soon to hit 24. The NoMad store...