Bernie Sanders pushes for $17-an-hour US minimum wage

AFP :
Leftist US senator Bernie Sanders announced a bill Thursday to raise the national minimum wage to $17 an hour, reigniting the battle for better pay standards as workers see pandemic-era gains erased by runaway inflation.
The $7.25 federal floor has not increased since 2009, and the dollar has since lost almost a third of its purchasing power, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Sanders, a former presidential candidate, has been campaigning for years for a hike but has been rebuffed by Congress, amid opposition from conservatives who fear harming small business and worsening inflation.
“In the year 2023 in the richest country in the history of the world, nobody should be forced to work for starvation wages,” said the self-described democratic socialist. “It’s not a radical idea. If you work 40, 50 hours a week, you should not be living in poverty. It is time to raise the minimum wage to a living wage.”
Sanders, chairman of the Democratic-led Senate’s powerful Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said his members would finalize legislation in June for a $17 minimum wage phased in over five years.