Target Raises Minimum Wage To $15 An Hour

TOPLINE

 In a move that will impact 275,000 employees that work at its stores and distribution centers, Target said Wednesday it will permanently raise its starting wage by $2 to $15 beginning July 5.

KEY FACTS

Key Background:

The federal minimum wage remains stuck at $7.25 (it was last increased in 2009), but the battle to raise that amount has picked up significant steam in recent years. Per the FightFor15.org website, the group’s organized operations began in 2012 when two hundred fast-food workers walked off the job to demand $15/hr and union rights in New York City, and it is now “a global movement in over 300 cities on six continents.” In July of 2019, the House voted to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. Per the New York Times, the raging coronavirus pandemic has led to a recent wave of worker activism, as employees at Instacart, Amazon and Whole Foods have gone on strike and demanded increased protections. Kroger, Starbucks, Walmart and Amazon had been paying hourly bonuses for workers during the height of the pandemic, but those four companies have ended those incentive programs in recent weeks. Hourly wages at Walmart start at $11 an hour.

Big Number:

350,000: Target has nearly 1,900 stores and 41 distribution centers and more than 350,000 employees.

Critical Quote: 

“America faces a life and death choice with how we respond to the continuing problems of systemic racism and systemic economic injustice, and they cannot be separated,” Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, president of Repairers of the Breach, a tax-exempt, not-for-profit organization.

Further Reading:

Target to Raise Minimum Wage: Live Business Updates (New York Times) 

Target raises minimum wage to $15 an hour for store, distribution and headquarter employees (Yahoo Finance)