Sen. Sanders Learns the Hard Way About a $15 Minimum Wage

Presidential hopeful and current Senator Bernie Sanders was able to survive a labor stand-off against his own campaign staff, but not without highlighting one consequence of minimum wage hikes.

Sen. Sanders has been a vocal proponent about the supposed benefits of a $15 national minimum wage that it has become a defining topic of his bid for the Democratic Party nomination. He even is the sponsor of the “Raise the Wage Act” in the Senate which would make it a federal wage mandate.

But last Thursday, it was publicly revealed that campaign workers employed by the Vermont Senator had been demanding since May 2019 that their pay become consistent with his wage rhetoric. The presidential hopeful eased tensions by making the annual salary for his entry-level hires equivalent to $15 per hour. But to offset the increase in labor costs for his campaign, Sen. Sanders also announced that he would be limiting the number of hours that staffers could work.

As his campaign proves, a $15 minimum wage does not come without consequences. For the Presidential hopeful, that is limiting staffer hours. For countless Americans, that is fewer hours worked or even losing a job.

The Sanders campaign serves as a stark reminder for all Americans of how job-hours will reliably be taken away from workers by a $15 minimum wage.