Democratic lawmakers visited a small business in Des Moines Saturday, pushing for an increase in the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.10 per hour.
“From now own, we’re going to keep that minimum wage so someone who works hard all day is not going to be in poverty,” said U.S. Senator Tom Harkin.
Harkin was joined by Congressman Bruce Braley, State Senator Jack Hatch, and U.S. Secretary of Labor, Thomas Perez.
The group visited the RAYGUN shirt store in East Village.
RAYGUN owner Mike Draper prides himself on paying all workers above minimum wage, and even paying interns.
“When you look at the retail sector and consider that 30% of retail employees qualify for minimum wage, that’s when some of my tax money starts subsidizing other companies that don’t pay their employees a wage tied to the cost of living,” said Draper.
Currently, there are bills in the U.S. Senate to raise the federal minimum wage and Iowa Senate to raise the minimum wage in Iowa.
