Should Baltimore raise its minimum wage to $15?
That’s what the Baltimore City Council Labor Committee will discuss at a hearing Wednesday evening.
Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke proposed a bill asking that the wage increase be implemented by the year 2020.
"Working people that live here will actually be able to support their families," Clarke said. "$15 an hour is what today you need to support a family of one."
Clarke will be joined at City Hall tonight by business owners, elected officials, low-wage workers and advocates at the Labor Committee hearing starting at 5 p.m.
Maryland’s current minimum wage is $8.25, but is set to increase to $8.75 in July.
Clarke’s bill proposes gradually increasing the wage to $15 an hour by 2020, and then indexing the wage so that it continues to increase as the cost of living rises.
Her bill would also raise pay for tipped workers, who earn an hourly wage of $3.63, to $15 an hour by 2025.
Over 30 cities in 10 states have raised the minimum wage in recent years.
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