Report: Democrats pushing $15 minimum wage have history of paying their own workers less

Congressional Democrats have vowed to push through a $15 minimum wage, one that President Joe Biden attempted to make part of his COVID relief package, with the hope that it could be pushed through the legislature via the budget reconciliation process.

In recent days, the "fight for 15" has suffered a couple setbacks.

Over the weekend, Biden himself admitted to CBS News that his minimum wage hike probably won't survive the budget negotiation process and will have to be addressed separately later this year.

Then, on Monday, the Congressional Budget Office released analysis of the minimum wage plan that said the proposed hike would cost the economy 1.4 million jobs.

Despite the bad news for the "fight for 15" movement, House Democrats have said they're not giving up.

But do they really believe in paying all Americans $15 per hour?

A Tuesday report from the New York Post indicated that at least some Democratic lawmakers who want to force businesses to pay all workers $15 per hour — even for workers whose labor is not worth that much — have a record of not paying their own workers the minimum wage they're currently demanding.

The Post took a look at job listings posted by four House Democrats who support the minimum wage hike — Tom Malinowski (N.J.), Susan Wild (Pa.), Sharice Davids (Kan.), and Chris Pappas (N.H.) — and found that all four of the lawmakers "have offered positions that paid below the minimum wage they claimed to be fighting for."

What did these Democrats offer?

Rep. Malinowski: According to the Post, the congressman's campaign team listed an opening for a communications fellow in September 2018. The four-day-a-week job included "staffing the candidate at events on work days and potentially over the weekend" and offered a $500 per month stipend. The Post attempted to contact the lawmaker's spokesman but did not get a response.

Rep. Wild: The Post noted that Wild's campaign posted a job listing in March 2018 that was similar to Malinowski's. Along with a $500 monthly stipend, the campaign also offered housing. College credit was also an option for payment. Wild's press shop did not respond to the Post's request for comment.

Rep. Davids: In the final month of Davids' 2018 race to unseat GOP Rep. Kevin Yoder, Democrats in Kansas posted a paid fellow opening that paid between $1,500 and $2,500. The pay would work out to between $9.38 per hour and $15.63 per hour, depending on experience, the Post reported. Davids' office, the Post said, could not be reached for comment.

Rep. Pappas: The lawmaker owns a restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire, called the Puritan Backroom. Despite Pappas' demand for a $15 minimum wage, job listings at his eatery offer $12.50 per hour, the Post reported. When asked about his employees' wages in June 2018, Pappas said he paid "on average" over $15 per hour to people in his kitchen, the newspaper said. In 2019, after the Democrat had changed his minimum wage position to support $15, he was found to still be offering jobs at $12.50 per hour. Pappas' office did not respond to the Post's request for comment.