Raising Wisconsin’s minimum wage would significantly cut poverty. So why is it still $7.25?

Workers like Olivia McKnight, a full-time Popeyes employee and mother of three, often struggle to get by even on wages above the federal minimum of $7.25, and those low-wage workers are disproportionately people of color. In Wisconsin, where the racial wealth and income gaps are some of the greatest in the nation, many feel raising the minimum is long overdue. Now, Democrats in the state are proposing a hike to $15 per hour for minimum wage workers, but face daunting political opposition from business interests and their Republican colleagues.

Reporting by Molly Davis and Gretchen Gerlach. Originally published July 20th, 2021.