On Tuesday, the mayor of Washington D.C., Muriel E. Bowser, pledged his support for the D.C. council's recent decision to raise the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour. Washington D.C. will follow in the footsteps of California and New York, which have already implemented laws to raise their minimum wages to $15 an hour over the next several years. Supporters of this increased minimum wage believe that it will help to reduce inequality and the current wage gap. This wage increase is estimated to impact 70,000 workers and put upward wage pressure on an additional 44,000 workers who make just above $15 an hour.
See "D.C. Lawmakers Approve $15 Minimum Wage, Joining N.Y., Calif.", Aaron C. Davis, The Washington Post, June 8, 2016