NEW YORK — A new report from One Fair Wage (OFW) warns that nearly half of U.S. workers earn less than $25 an hour, underscoring what the group calls a critical need for a $25 to $30 minimum wage.
OFW reported Friday that “67 million workers across the United States — nearly half the nation’s workforce — earn less than $25 an hour.”
One Fair Wage is a national organization that includes nearly 300,000 service workers, more than 1,000 restaurant employers, and various groups committed to increasing wages for all workers, eliminating subminimum wages, and enhancing working conditions in the service industry.
The report was published in advance of large-scale Labor Day protests in New York and Chicago, part of a nationwide “Workers Over Billionaires” Day of Action.
The protest is intended to demand real solutions to the affordability crisis and launch the Living Wage For All campaign. Thousands of workers will join this rally on Sept. 1, according to OFW.
The protest was organized by OFW with several strong partners, including 50501, Rise and Resist, Physicians for a National Health Program–NY, New York Doctors, Target Majority NYC, and the May Day Strong coalition.
OFW reports that about half of the workers in the U.S. earn less than $25 an hour, and that “in New York, 41 percent of workers earn below this threshold; in Illinois, 44 percent. In Ohio and Michigan, it is nearly one in two workers.”
OFW also underscores the drastic growth in income inequality over the past 40 years, with the income of the top 1 percent increasing by 326 percent, while the income of the majority of workers has only increased by 73 percent.
OFW states that President Donald Trump “promised” the “No Tax on Tips” measure, but two-thirds of tipped workers do not earn enough to file income taxes, so most would not benefit from this policy.
In addition, tariffs are increasing prices, Medicaid is being cut, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is taking away support that low-wage workers have relied on. This leaves these workers struggling to make ends meet.
Saru Jayaraman, the president of One Fair Wage, expressed concern: “The Fight for Fifteen changed history by lifting up the public imagination and proving that bold demands can become reality. Now workers are calling for something more fundamental, a living wage that actually meets the cost of survival.”
“This Labor Day, thousands of workers are rising up in New York, Chicago, and across the country to demand real solutions and to launch the Living Wage for All campaign to make America affordable now,” Jayaraman said.
OFW emphasizes the political consequences that could occur if affordable wages are not more widely acknowledged.
According to OFW, Trump won the 2024 election by courting tipped workers with “hollow promises” such as “No Tax on Tips.” Candidates who promised to make cities more affordable and give workers fairer wages won their elections in New York, Seattle, and Minneapolis in 2024.
“The shocking truth is that half of America cannot afford to live in America,” Jayaraman said. OFW stands with several other organizations hoping to increase the minimum wage and create a more just country.
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