Big step forward as Kansas City raises minimum wage to $13 per hour

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From KCMO-Fox:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Minimum wage workers in Kansas City, Missouri, are in line to get a raise, as the City Council on Thursday approved a measure to hike the minimum wage in the city to $13 an hour over the next five years.

The current minimum wage is $7.65 an hour. That will increase to $8.50 an hour starting on August 24th.

The move, approved by a 12-1 vote, was met with celebration by many low-wage earners.

“This was a huge victory for the working people of Kansas City,” said City Council member Jermaine Reed. “This is a moral issue.”

Terrence Wise, 36, who has spent nearly 20 years as a fast-food worker, says that the move towards a “living wage” is news he’s been waiting a long time to hear.

“We know that 15 dollars an hour is the new baseline for cities all across the country,” said Wise. “But right here in the heartland of Kansas City, $13 an hour, which has just been passed, is a great step forward.”