Nationwide, Democrats have made raising the minimum wage a rallying cry.
Recently, the minimum wage debate has become an issue in the city's mayor's race.
Last week Mayor Alvin Brown joined a local restaurant owner to say he supports an increase in the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.
Brown said he'll work with state lawmakers to get an increase to the state's minimum wage which is $8.05 an hour.
Bills to raise the wage have gone nowhere in Tallahassee so far.
Some Florida cities have raised the minimum wage for people working for city government.
At the national level, there's a push to bump up minimum-wage rates to keep pace with today's cost of living.
"Right now things are heating up," said Brian Mahony, Labor Reporter for POLITICO, during an appearance on First Coast Connect. "Senator Patty Murray will introduce a bill calling for the minimum wage to be increased to $12 an hour. That's likely to go nowhere in the Republican-controlled Congress. But on the other side of the aisle, Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has proposed a more modest increase, to $9 an hour."
Meanwhile, opponents of raising the minimum wage say it squeezes small business and can lead to a spike in unemployment.
Listen to the entire interview with Brian Mahony on today's episode of the First Coast Connect podcast.
Photo Credit: NYC Rally To Raise The Minimum Wage by The All-Nite Images is used under CC BY-SA 2.0.
