New Jersey workers would see the state's minimum wage raised to $15 an hour under a proposal unveiled Thursday by Democratic legislative leaders flanked by labor and anti-poverty activists.
In 2013, New Jersey voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot question to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $8.25 and tie future increases to the Consumer Price Index.
Workers from McDonald's, Taco Bell and other chain restaurants protested in cities around the country Tuesday to push fast food companies to pay them at least $15 an hour. The protesters also had a message for presidential candidates: Support the cause or lose their vote next year.
Minimum wage earners recently received some bad news from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development: the wage will not increase for at least another year.