More than 80,000 Wyoming workers would benefit from an increased minimum wage, according to a new report.

Wyoming is one of 16 states where employers are required to pay only the federal minimum wage of $7.25 cents an hour. A pay bump to $17 an hour would boost the pay for more than 27% of Wyoming's workforce, according to Oxfam America.

Income needs vary across the state. According to the Wyoming Women's Foundation, a self-sufficient wage for one adult with one preschooler ranges from a high of $36 an hour in Teton County to $21 in Goshen County.

Alex Shannon, communications and event coordinator for the foundation, said the minimum wage does not meet the self-sufficiency threshold in any county.

"Even working full-time, earning the 2024 federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is not enough to meet the standard anywhere in Wyoming," Shannon pointed out. "For any family composition, including a single adult with no children."

A proposed Wyoming House bill in 2021 which would have raised the state's hourly minimum wage to $15 was never considered for introduction. Opponents argued it would hurt small businesses and lead to layoffs.

Shannon pointed out the cost of child care is a particular challenge for workers with low pay rates. For families with young children, she added, housing and child care costs can account for as much as half of the family's budget.

"Reducing costs for workers, such as child care assistance, food benefits and federal Earned Income Tax (Credit) really are going to offer sustainability and resources on the journey to becoming self-sufficient," Shannon contended

The Oxfam report also showed a significant pay gap in Wyoming by gender. More than one-third of women make less than $17 per hour, while roughly one-fifth of men fall into the same bracket.


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Tenant's rights groups are asking policymakers to move on several fronts to rein in corporate landlords who they said are worsening California's housing crisis.

Advocates said after the private equity firm Blackstone bought 5,600 apartments in the San Diego area in 2021, the company began squeezing out tenants in order to aggressively raise rents.

Amy Schur, campaign director for the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, works with a tenant group called the Blackstone Tenants Union.

"Reports have shown that they when able to, let's say a tenant moves out, they are raising rents as much as 40%, 50% for the next tenant," Schur pointed out. "In other words, this housing is progressively becoming less and less affordable in their hands. And worse, we're now starting to see more evictions that are absolutely unreasonable evictions."

Blackstone did not respond to a request for comment but has said in the past it has spent $100 million to upgrade its properties and claims the average rents there are 20% below market rate.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors recently passed a motion to look into an ordinance to limit how many single-family residential properties an institutional investor or corporate landlord can own. Three similar bills failed to advance this year in the state Legislature.

At the federal level, the Stop Wall Street Looting Act, which will be reintroduced this fall, would reform the economics of private equity.

Caroline Nagy, national senior policy counsel for the nonprofit Americans for Financial Reform, noted several members of Congress have accepted thousands of dollars in contributions from Blackstone employees during this election cycle, including Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Calif., Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., and Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif.

"We know that the corporate landlord lobby is spending their tenants' hard-earned rent payments and junk fees, lobbying elected officials against tenant interests," Nagy asserted.

This fall, California voters will consider Proposition 33, which would repeal certain limits on local rent-control ordinances. In addition, President Joe Biden recently asked Congress to give corporate landlords a choice to either cap rent increases on existing units at 5% per year or risk losing federal tax breaks.

More than 130,000 New Hampshire workers would benefit from a raise in the federal minimum wage, according to a new report.

It includes the more than 20% of women in the state earning less than $17 per hour, who make up the bulk of the state's child care and elder care workforce.

Kaitlyn Henderson, senior researcher for the nonprofit Oxfam America, said Black and Latina women in particular are filling vital roles in the care industry, yet struggle to care for their own families on substandard pay.

"There is an opportunity for us to not only invest more in those industries but also to increase the wages of these workers who are doing some of the most essential work that there is in our economy," Henderson contended.

Henderson pointed out the overwhelming majority of low-wage earners are adults over age 20, and a significant number are single parents. New Hampshire remains the only state in New England to follow the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

Advocates for workers are backing federal legislation known as the Raise the Wage Act, which calls for increasing the minimum wage to $17 per hour by 2028. The measure would also phase out the subminimum wage of $2.13 for tipped workers, ensuring consistent pay without eliminating tips. Henderson added exclusions to the minimum wage for teens, farmworkers and people with disabilities would be eliminated.

"The Raise the Wage Act does a variety of things that would go a really long way to investing in the workers in our communities and really helping the economy, at the end of the day," Henderson emphasized.

The measure was introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and has more than 30 co-sponsors but does not include members of New Hampshire's congressional delegation. Supporters of the bill noted if the minimum wage had increased with productivity over the past 50 years, it would be $23 per hour today.


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Massachusetts labor leaders say the state can meet its ambitious climate goals while creating quality jobs in communities facing the greatest threats from climate change.

A new report details how investments in electric rail networks, renewable energy and high-efficiency buildings can reduce emissions and help build a diverse, equitable workforce.

Ryan Murphy, executive director of Climate Jobs Massachusetts, said those most at risk of sea level rise or worsening air quality should benefit from the jobs the projects will bring.

"We have a real opportunity to create thousands and thousands of great careers," Murphy pointed out. "That not only benefit the environment and fight climate change, but also helps reduce inequality."

Murphy noted energy jobs have long provided strong wages, health care and pension plans, and argued the green jobs of the future should do the same. The state aims to cut its emissions in half by 2030, with a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

The state's energy transition will require a steady pipeline of highly trained construction workers, electricians, plumbers and more. Murphy suggested the state should boost investments in quality pre-apprenticeship programs and increase spending on outreach services to help low-income workers gain better access to union jobs.

He emphasized ensuring strong labor standards and contractor agreements to support apprenticeships on state-funded projects will help build equity.

"The more that we can invest in this infrastructure -- making sure that money is going back into Massachusetts communities -- that's, to me, where the largest investment would be most critical," Murphy stressed.

Murphy added it is important for the state to support workers displaced by the clean energy transition. The report suggested the creation of an apprenticeship program fund to train fossil fuel workers in alternative energy careers, while clean energy employers hiring the workers could receive tax credits as incentives.