AL Political Reporter: “A recent study found that more than 40 percent of Alabama workers make below $15 an hour, while an even greater percentage of Black and Hispanic Alabamians make less than $15 an hour. The state is among the seven states with the largest concentration of low-wage workers.
The report by Oxfam America, a Massachusetts-based charitable organization that advocates for alleviating poverty, also found that raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour would benefit 896,551 workers in Alabama.
The report also found that 61 percent of hispanic/latinx, 58.1 percent of Black Alabamians and 50 percent of women workers in Alabama earn under $15 an hour, which can be compared to other states by using the organization’s interactive map.
“It’s been 13 years since Congress raised the wage floor in this country, and in that time all costs of living have steadily climbed. The buying power of the minimum wage simply hasn’t kept up,” Kaitlyn Henderson, senior research advisor at Oxfam America, said in a statement. “It’s shameful that at a time when many US companies are boasting record profits, some of the hardest working people in this country—especially people who keep our economy and society functioning—are struggling to get by and falling behind.””