Baltimore’s City Council, pushed by a group of freshmen members seeking dramatic changes, gave preliminary approval Monday to a bill to raise the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022.
That would be the highest minimum wage in the state of Maryland — nearly $5 an hour higher than in surrounding counties.
“Today is a day I’ve waited for a long time,” Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke said after the 12-3 vote.
Clarke, lead sponsor of the bill, said it would bring about “economic equity” in Baltimore, making life better for some of the city’s poorest workers.