Ohio $15 minimum wage movement continues as employers adopt pay increases, supporters plan ballot is

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The push for a $15 minimum wage emerged here more than five years ago, often with protests outside fast-food restaurants, where hundreds of demonstrators demanded higher wages for workers.

Many thought it a fledgling campaign that would soon fizzle. But what started on the fringes has influenced the mainstream.

On this Labor Day, we look at the current status of the local $15 minimum wage movement, some of the opposition it still faces, as well as how the movement’s message may have played a role in getting some employers to increase their minimum wage.

These include employers the movement didn’t target. Fifth Third Bancorp will raise its minimum wage to $18 on Oct. 28, after going from $12 to $15 in January 2018. Ohio’s minimum wage, currently $8.55, rises annually if the federal inflation rate goes up.

Read more: https://www.cleveland.com/business/2019/09/ohio-15-minimum-wage-movement-continues-as-employers-adopt-pay-increases-supporters-plan-ballot-issue.html