Labor Secretary Wants Minimum Wage Raised

U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, who’s advocating nationally in support of raising the minimum wage to $10.10, said the federal minimum wage is the floor that states should use for their hourly rates.
Tennessee has the highest percentage of minimum wage workers in the nation but is one of only a few states without a minimum wage law, according to a federal report released in March. The roughly 117,000 minimum wage workers in Tennessee account for about 7.5 percent of the state’s workforce.
The prevalence of minimum wage workers has no bearing on the likelihood of any minimum wage increase through the state legislature this year.
Last year a bill proposing a $1-an-hour raise failed to advance out of committee.