Photo by Matt Cohen.

Joined by a majority of the members of the D.C. Council, Mayor Gray, along with Council Chairman Phil Mendelson signed a bill that will increase the District’s minimum wage to $11.50 by 2016.

Stemming from the fallout of the Large Retailer Accountability Act, which Gray vetoed, the Minimum Wage Amendment Act of 2013 will raise the District’s minimum wage in increments. This July, the minimum wage will be increased to $9.50. In 2015, it will go up to $10.50 and then another dollar in 2016. “Last year I vetoed the Large Retailer Accountability Act in part because it would only raise the minimum wage for a small percentage of the District’s workers. I said at the time that I supported an across-the-board wage hike,” Gray said. “A bill that raises the minimum wage for all is a much better vehicle for ensuring that all District residents who work hard earn a decent living.”

Before signing the bill, Mendelson thanked members of the Prince George’s and Montgomery County council for their efforts in making the minimum wage hike a region-wide effort. “The minimum wage has perpetuated poverty,” Mendelson said, and discussed how this bill will increase the District’s minimum wage to become one of the highest in the nation.

Afterwards, Councilmember Vincent Orange (D-At Large), who authored and introduced the bill, took the podium and thanked his colleagues on the Council—the bill was unanimously passed by the Council last month—and quipped “we’re going to have to close our borders because everyone will want to come to D.C.”