It was the boiling point moment for the candidates at last night’s CNN Democratic Debate in Brooklyn: A showdown over minimum wage.
“When this campaign began, I said that we got to end the starvation minimum wage of $7 and a quarter and raise it to 15,” said Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
That’s true. Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour has been one of Sanders’ bread and butter issues during the primary season.
Last July, he introduced legislation to make the wage increase a reality.
During the debate, he criticized Clinton for her stance on the issue.
“Secretary Clinton said let's raise [the minimum wage] to $12,” Sanders went on. “All over this country, people are standing up, and they're saying $12 is not good enough. We need $15 an hour.”
The same day as the debate, fast food workers took to the streets of New York to protest and advocate for an increase in their wages, so Sanders’ sentiments are partially true.
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His criticism, however, is a bit off the mark.
Clinton does support raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
She has vocalized her support for Fight for $15, an international movement by low wage workers fighting for a $15 minimum wage.
Clinton was also outspoken in her support of New York’s wage hike to $15 per hour, as well as similar efforts in Los Angeles and Seattle.
That said, Clinton favors an overall federal increase to $12 an hour. On her website, she clearly expresses that, with the idea that states and localities that can raise the amount should.
