'They just can’t get by': Wisconsin advocates look to raise minimum wage to $20 per hour

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) - The Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Union, or MASH, is calling on state lawmakers to change the Wisconsin minimum wage to $20 per hour. 

Currently the minimum wage throughout the state sits at $7.25 per hour, the same as the federal minimum. 

“No matter where you live, no matter where you punch a clock, no matter what you do, you deserve a living wage,” MASH President Peter Rickman said. 

Rickman says the $7.25 is not the problem and that those making under $20 per hour is the issue. 

“There’s not a county in Wisconsin, there’s not a village, town, or city that you can get by on less than $20 an hour,” Rickman said. 

Sabrina Prochaska works at a Milwaukee coffee shop and makes around $15 per hour. 

“It’s been hard, like it’s not easy,” Prochaska said. “No matter what line of work you are in, you should be able to make a living wage where you don’t have to struggle to make ends meet.”

On the other side of the coin is Jeanette Dvorak, who is the owner of Mainstream Boutique in Milwaukee. 

“I do feel like that minimum wage is a little bit low in my opinion because my employees don’t start at that,” Dvorak said. “Not that I’m at the low end but I’m definitely not at the $20 end for all my employees.”

Dvorak says as an owner she needs to keep a bottom line for employee salaries. 

“It would affect the amount of hours I give my employees because I could only afford so much for payroll,” Dvorak said. 

Both sides can agree that $7.25 per hour is too low, but the debate is how high that number should go. 

“There are thousands of people in the state who are tired of it, and they just can’t get by anymore,” Prochaska said.