Even with a bump to $14 an hour, Walmart workers won't make nearly as much as some activists say they should

• Walmart on Tuesday said it would raise its minimum wage to $14, affecting thousands of US workers.
• Activists have been pushing for a $15 minimum wage for over a decade, and now say at least $20 is needed.
• The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009, even as the cost of living has soared. 

Thousands of Walmart workers are set to see a pay raise this March as the company said Tuesday it will increase its minimum wage from $12 an hour to $14.

But although the move brings the retailer one step closer to rivals like Target and Amazon, the number remains shy of the $15 figure that labor activists have been calling for since 2012.

Indeed, during the past decade, housing costs have nearly doubled while health and education costs have ticked up by 40% and 20%, respectively, according to Rick Wartzman, the author of "Still Broke," a book released in late 2022 that traces Walmart's societal impact.

"Do the math and you're compelled to ask: Shouldn't it be the Fight for $18 or maybe the Fight for $27 at this point?" Wartzman writes.

For his part, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon has said that the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour (where it's been since 2009) is too low, and that retail wages would likely go beyond $15 in time. McMillon has also defended a lower starting wage as a way to provide a "ladder of opportunity" within the company.

Wartzman advocated in his book for a federal minimum wage of $20 per hour: "As big a leap as it would take, a federal minimum of $20 an hour is where we need to get — and as swiftly as possible — if we want Americans who work hard to not merely eke out an existence."

The company has previously said the average worker clocks in about 37 hours per week, which would give them an annual income of just under $27,000. The federal poverty level for a family of four in 2022 was $27,750.

Up until the middle of last decade, Walmart's minimum wage had matched the federal level at $7.25. The retailer's minimum rose to $9 per hour in 2015, to $11 an hour in 2018, and then to the current $12 an hour in 2021. 

With these changes, Walmart US President and CEO John Furner wrote in a memo to employees Tuesday that the average hourly worker in the United States will make more than $17.50 per hour, a dollar an hour more than they earned last year.

"As you continue to focus on your customers, we're focused on investing in you – our store associates – through higher wages and new opportunities to gain the skills to serve tomorrow's customers and grow a career with Walmart," Furner said.

Still, Walmart's starting wage falls below that of several of its competitors.

Amazon raised its minimum wage for all US employees to $15 per hour in 2018. One year later, Target also announced it would be raising its minimum wage to $15 per hour. And in 2021, Costco announced that its employees would be paid a minimum of $17 per hour.

Against that backdrop, $20 may not seem like such a stretch.

If you are a Walmart employee affected by the raise, please get in touch with Dominick or Ben.