Hear stories of people living on minimum wage

A native of Detroit, Cecil Euseary, 52, moved to Holland, Mich., in 2007, after his mother died — he had to get out of town. He moved back to Detroit in 2014.

He works at Burger King for $8.15 per hour, the minimum wage in Michigan. He can only get about 25 hours of work per week at Burger King. Cecil has been active in the "D15" campaign to increase the minimum wage in Detroit to $15 per hour. He once met with U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, when he was visiting Detroit.

"It's hard. If it weren't for my godmom — this is her house; I get a room upstairs — if it weren't for her, I don't know what," Cecil says. "I'd probably be out on the street, in a shelter."

Here is Cecil's story:

Interview by Katrease Stafford, Detroit Free Press

Where we stand

The last time Congress raised the minimum wage, millions of workers across the USA received pay raises in three phases — from $5.15 per hour to $5.85 in 2007, then to $6.55 the following year, and finally to $7.25 in 2009. And there the minimum wage has remained since. Even at the time of that increase, economists noted that, when adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage was still at a lower level than in the past. Since 2009, inflation has gone up by 11%.

With no nationwide minimum-wage increase in six years, and none on the horizon, hourly workers — especially in the fast-food industry — have staged protests seeking higher pay and other employee rights. At 40 hours per week, a full-time worker at $7.25 per hour makes $290 per week in gross pay (before taxes and other payroll deductions). That annual pay of $15,080 puts an individual above the poverty line by $3,310. Add just one dependent (a non-working spouse or a child), and that worker falls into the federal classification for poverty.

All of this has prompted many states and cities to pass their own minimum wage laws in recent months. Twenty-nine states, plus the District of Columbia, now have minimum wages above $7.25. D.C. exceeds all state minimum wages at $10.50, while a handful of cites, including San Francisco and Seattle, are on a path to reach a minimum wage of $15 in the coming years.

Employers argue that higher minimum wage laws harm job creation and can cause job cuts — and also lead to increased inflation — as businesses are faced with lowering costs or increasing prices to maintain profits. In St. Louis on Wednesday, a judge struck down a city ordinance that would have eventually increased the minimum wage there to $11, one day before the first phase was to go into effect.

In examining the minimum-wage issue, USA TODAY Network spoke with workers in communities that have experienced recent increases. These are their stories about life at the bottom of the pay scale.

Enriqueta Juarez, 37

Working as a housekeeper, Enriqueta has received pay raises in recent years as the minimum wage in the District of Columbia has increased. It is now at $10.50 per hour. She’s a married mother of two, and one of her children has autism. As the minimum wage has gone up, Enriqueta has been able to move her family into a two-bedroom apartment and buy her own car.

"It just makes me feel very good because now I'm able to provide for my family a little more than what I used to," Enriqueta says through an interpreter.

Here is Enriqueta's story:

Interview by Jim Lenahan, USA TODAY

Sandra Roman, 35

Sandra lives and works in Oakland, Calif., where the minimum wage is $12.25 per hour. That's $3.25 higher than the state's minimum wage. The single mother of four works at McDonald's and has been active in efforts to continue to raise the minimum wage in California, ensure fast-food worker rights and establish a union.

"Before the minimum wage even went up, everything has been going up (in price), and everything's going up right now," Sandra says through an interpreter.

Here is Sandra's story:

Interview by Lindsay Deutsch, USA TODAY

Houston Illo, 28

Houston is a recent graduate of the University of Vermont, where she earned a degree in jazz studies, with a minor in parks and recreation. The only full-time work she has been able to find is at Rite-Aid, where she started last year at the minimum wage of $9.15. On her first anniversary with the company, she received an 18-cents-per-hour raise.

"I took that job because it was better than not working at all," Houston says. "It took me all summer to find anything, and that's what I came up with."

Here is Houston's story:

Interview by Joel Baird, The Burlington Free Press

Shamar El-Shabazz, 50

Raised in the projects of Wilmington, Shamar works at Burger King for the Delaware minimum wage of $8.25 per hour. He previously worked for Cease Violence, a community organization, but lost that job when funding ran out. Shamar lives with his wife and youngest daughter in a one-bedroom apartment. His wife is unable to work because of a medical condition.

"I'm trying to make an honest living, trying to stay out of trouble, trying to just survive the best I can without getting in any trouble," Shamar says. "But it's been very difficult when you only can make so much money as a civilized person in the city."

Here is Shamar's story:

Interview by Scott Goss, Wilmington (Del.) News Journal

HIGHER MINIMUM WAGES

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have set minimum wages above the $7.25 federal level. Some cities also have set minimum wages above their states' level.

Top 10 minimum wages by state, as of October 2015:

Washington — $9.47

Oregon — $9.25

Connecticut — $9.15

Vermont — $9.15

California — $9

Massachussetts — $9

Minnesota — $9 (only for employers with annual sales volume of $500,000 or more)

Rhode Island — $9

Alaska — $8.75

New York — $8.75

(Note: D.C.'s minimum wage is $10.50)

Three states have minimum wages that apply to only some employers:

Minnesota — $9, only for large employers (annual sales volume of $500,000 or more)

Nevada — $8.25, only if health benefits are not provided

Ohio — $8.10, only for large employers (gross revenue of $283,000 or more)