In Photos: Las Vegas Fights For $15/Hour

Activists and workers rally on the Las Vegas Strip for a $15 an hour living wage on April 14, 2016.

Today, the average age for a fast food worker in America is 29 years old. The majority of these workers are women and nearly a third are raising at least one child. (source)

Had the minimum wage from 1968 simply kept pace with inflation, it would be well over $10/hr. today. The current minimum wage in Clark County, Nevada is $8.25/hr.

The Fight for $15 incluces home health care workers, many of whom are living in poverty. Primarily these are women of color, 30% are African-American, and 16% are Latino. (source)

Roughly 140,000 Nevadans make less than $9/hr. Meanwhile, the estimated living wage in Clark County for a family of four where both parents work is $15.04/hr. (source)

The Fight for $15 includes the fight for union rights as collective bargaining and the 8-hour overtime rule came under attack from a new Republican majority in the 2015 Nevada State Legislative session. (source)

In America today, there is no state where a minimum wage worker who works a standard 40 hour work week can afford a one bedroom apartment. (source)

Almost half of all home health care workers need public assistance to make ends meet. Raising the minimum wage to $15/hr. would give these workers approximately $8,000 more a year. (source)

It is estimated that nearly 6.8 million Latinos would benefit from a minimum wage increase. (source)

In 2014, an estimated 47 million Americans lived in poverty. (source) Based on inflation and the cost of living, the minimum wage should be well over $10/hr. Let economist Former Sec. of Labor Robert Reich explain …

I am a writer & photographer living in Vegas and you should definitely offer me more than $15/hr.

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