Last week we asked Worthee members if they thought all full-time workers should earn $15 per hour or more. Over 350 responses flowed in during the following 24 hours and a whopping 93% of respondents said YES.

A day later, we asked Worthee members if they had ever heard of the “Fight for 15” movement. Only 43% had heard of it.

#Fightfor15 has been around since around 2012. I marched in a “Fight for 15” rally in late 2013 in Boston a few months after having left my position as head of the fast casual restaurant chain, Boloco, I had started 16 years earlier. I remember getting a call the night before from one of the organizers who wanted to ensure I wasn’t a mole of some kind, trying to thwart their efforts. One of my long-standing goals had been to move the average wage at Boloco from $11 per hour in 2011, to $12 in 2012, and so on until we reached $15 in 2015 (we ultimately got there in 2019). I suggested he google it. By the time we got off the phone, he understood my intentions were aligned with theirs.

Lots of progress on the minimum wage has been made since. A number of states – and major cities – have passed laws which will see minimum wage increase to $15 per hour and beyond in the coming years. But we have a long way to go. $15 is only the starting gate, not the finish line.

In a final question posed to Worthee members just yesterday (Friday 10/23), we asked if they would be willing to be contacted by the Fight for 15 organization.

74%, or 197, said yes. The movement continues.

On we go.