Minimum wage is the MINIMUM (smallest) amount an employer can pay you legally. That wage should be big enough to cover the average living expenses of a family for the year. When an employer decides to pay minimum wage, this shows that their value of staff work is low and that they would pay less if they could.
Again Minimum wage is just that, minimum. They can exceed that amount if they value you, but most employers don't and that is the issue. Tell your coworkers to value themselves & their families by refusing to play classist games to separate our collective negotiating power. Your neighbors, the guy flipping burgers, friends, that disabled lady from church, & coworkers all deserve to have a decent quality of life. And many employers would like you to believe someone has to suffer and its not true.
The working class has been producing with record profits/output for companies. Science has made huge strides. There is enough for everyone and it frustrates me that people are suffering /going without. There clearly isn't a scarcity issue and if it is, it's because capitalism and greed have manufactured it. And i am so over it!