NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Currently, Tennessee's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. For someone who holds the job full time, that's only about $15,000 a year.
Rep. Gloria Johnson wants to more than triple that number, setting Tennessee's minimum wage at $20.
"We are behind. People are struggling to keep the lights on and to keep food on the table and other states that have raised the wage are doing well with it, and it hasn’t caused problems in most states. So I believe we can do that in Tennessee," said Rep. Gloria Johnson during a news conference on Thursday.
Rep. Johnson says she got that number from the Living Wage Calculator, developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or MIT. In Davidson County, a single person with no kids would still need to make $23 an hour just to afford to live here, according to the chart. Of course, that number only rises with children.
But don't start dreaming of a raise just yet.
"Do I think it will pass?" asked Rep. Johnson. "I don’t have a lot of hope but there are a lot of people who asked me to bring this bill and I plan to bring this bill."
It may be hard for the bill to even be introduced in the Banking and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee next Tuesday.
That's because under Tennessee law, it has to get a motion and a second just to be introduced. That subcommittee only has one Democrat, House Minority Leader Karen Camper, meaning she'll need help from across the aisle.
We'll have more on this story Friday afternoon on NewsChannel 5 at 4 pm.
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- Lelan Statom
