DC Deserves Better than Initiative 87A $25 Minimum Wage is a false promise.
The places you love the District of Columbia are under pressure. Initiative 87 would make things much worse — for workers, businesses, and you.
What This is Really AboutHERE’S WHAT THEY LEFT OUT
The Living Wage for All Amendment Act (Initiative 87) sounds simple: raise wages, help workers. But simple isn't the same as right — and in this case, the reality is far more complicated than the campaign selling it.
DC already has the highest minimum wage of any state in the country — $17.95 an hour, rising automatically with inflation every year. The question isn't whether workers deserve more. They do. The question is whether this is the right way to get there.
We don't think it is. No American city has ever spiked its minimum wage this fast — and DC's workers, families, and small businesses will be the ones who pay the price.
Three Things to KnowWhat initiative 87 actually does
It drives up the cost of everythingChildcare. Healthcare. Rent. Groceries. A cup of coffee. Every business that employs hourly workers gets hit — and those costs get passed to you. DC's cost of living is already 39% above the national average.
Higher wages, smaller paychecksWhen labor costs spike too far, too fast, businesses cut hours, reduce shifts, and replace people with automation. More per hour often means less per week — and sometimes no job at all.
Too extreme, too fastDC already leads the nation in minimum wage. Full- and limited-service business closures increased 40% in 2025 alone. An extreme wage spike at this moment destabilizes an already fragile economy.
$18.40
DC's min wage (as of July 2026) is already the highest of any state in the nation — and grows every year with inflation.
102
Restaurant closures in 2025 — more than doubled since 2022 — which would increase even more due to Initiative 87.
96%
Surveyed economists say a $25 min wage would lead to job loss, automation, and worse inflation.
Voices from DCReal People.
Real Consequences.
These stories reflect the experiences of real DC workers, diners, and operators whose livelihoods depend on getting this right.
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For years, “Server Sam” has been taking care of customers at a treasured DC diner that you know by name. Recent policies that were supposed to help them already cost them $240 a week. Sam went from $910 to $670.
Not because of anything they did wrong, but because higher costs meant fewer customers, fewer shifts, fewer chances.
A $25 minimum wage would make it worse. Much worse. Sam would only be taking home $500 a week — maybe even less.
That's not a living wage. That's a giant pay cut disguised as a raise.
DC workers can't afford another failed experiment.
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Devon has been coming to the same DC cafe every Friday night for fifteen years. Same booth. Same burger. Same server.
That burger is already $4 more than it was two years ago. Under a $25 minimum wage, it jumps another $8. Devon’s Friday night goes from a $70 dinner to over a hundred dollars — and Devon starts staying home.
When Devon stays home, the cafe closes. And when the cafe closes, their server loses everything.
A $25 minimum wage doesn't help anyone at this table.
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Emerson didn’t open a DC bistro to get rich. Emerson opened it to give people jobs. Emerson’s got fourteen employees — servers, cooks, a dishwasher who’s been there since day one.
The bistro is already in the red. Under a $25 minimum wage, labor costs jump from 38 cents of every dollar to nearly 60. Emerson can’t raise prices enough to survive. The math has been done.
Closing isn't giving up. It's what the math demands.
Fourteen people don't get a raise. They get a pink slip.
That’s the actual cost of a $25 minimum wage.
In the NewsWhat Experts Are Saying
“If it passes, the policy would be even worse for affordability than more incremental increases enacted in recent years…An academic paper published last month shows how increases in minimum wages raise the likelihood of robot adoption in manufacturing.”
— The Washington Post Editorial Board, March 2026
"A significant wage hike risks further destabilizing restaurants struggling with lower sales and higher costs."
— Shawn Townsend, President & CEO, Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington
Who We AreDC Shouldn’t be a Testing Ground
Keep DC Local and Independent is a coalition of workers, business owners, and DC residents who believe our city deserves policies designed for us — not imposed on us by well-funded national organizations with no stake in the outcome.
We want our workers to earn more. We want our local business owners to keep the lights on. And we want our community to be able to afford the places that make our city so special.
That’s why we can’t support a policy that misleads by promising raises while delivering layoffs, closures, and higher prices for everyone. DC can do better. We should demand better.
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