POLITICAL ANALYSIS OF STATE AND FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT FOR A LIVABLE MINIMUM WAGE

One Fair Wage (OFW) is a national coalition, campaign, and organization working to ensure that all tipped workers are guaranteed a livable minimum wage. The organization seeks to accomplish its goal through state and federal campaigns, including legislative relationship building, policy advocacy, voter engagement, and community organizing. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated preexisting wage inequality and increased the urgency for legislative change, and the new political landscape has shifted OFW’s legislative focus from the state to the federal level. OFW engaged a team to conduct research and produce political analysis on the legislative support needed to pass fair wage legislation. The team delivered three legislative reports—two providing state-level analyses and the third analyzing the behavior of US Senators from select states. The team’s final report also includes a state case study containing best practices for OFW’s use in future research efforts.