Philadelphia and the surrounding counties are leading the way in the battle to increase the minimum wage in Pennsylvania from the federal minimum of $7.25 to $15, writes Gillian McGoldrick for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Twelve Democratic and two Republican leaders from Southeastern Pennsylvania are lobbying together to raise the minimum wage. This is one of the first major collaborations since the new leadership took over in Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania currently has the lowest minimum wage among its neighbors. Even West Virginia and Ohio, which are Republican strongholds, raised their minimum wage to $8.75 and $10.45, respectively.

Earlier this month, the top executives of Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties sent a letter to Gov. Josh Shapiro and legislative leaders. In the letter, they expressed their support for Shapiro’s proposal to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

It “benefits us all,” the letter states.

“Despite the assumption that an increase only impacts teenagers or other younger workers, research has shown that those implicated by a minimum wage increase represent a multi-racial and multigenerational group,” wrote the executives.

Read more about the efforts to increase the minimum wage in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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