Neither presidential candidate has gone hard on raising the federal minimum wage throughout the course of their campaigns. But advocates of the policy change say they expect more from Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We were bugging the campaign for a long time: Please talk about this more openly. Like, run on this issue,” said Saru Jayaraman, co-founder and president of One Fair Wage. “And they’ve listened to us in terms of putting out to the press that this was her platform. There are apparently many billboards in swing states that say, ‘Kamala Harris wants to raise the minimum wage.’ But we need more of that.”
“There’s 14 million restaurant workers,” she added. “They have a 12% voter turnout rate. They need to hear their top needs prioritized every time you speak. That’s what will get them out to vote.”