DC Deserves Better than Initiative 87INITIATIVE 87 WOULD MAKE EVERYTHING IN DC MORE EXPENSIVE.
DC families are already feeling the pain — at the grocery store, at the child care center, and in every rent check. And our economy is still absorbing the loss of federal jobs. Initiative 87 would stack a $25 mandate on top of all of it, faster and steeper than any American city has ever tried. Everyone pays.
What This is Really AboutHERE’S WHAT THEY DIDN’T TELL YOU.
Initiative 87 is built on a false promise: that we can mandate a dramatic minimum wage increase on every employer — small businesses, non-profits, and others alike — without all of us paying the cost.
The consequences would reach everyone. Higher grocery bills, child care costs, and rent for residents. Fewer hours and more automation for workers. More small, local, and independent businesses closed for good.
DC already has a higher minimum wage than any state in the country — $18.40 an hour — and it rises automatically with inflation every year. That system of slow, steady increases works. It gives the economy time to absorb each step, which a sudden jump to $25 would not.
Three Things to KnowWhat initiative 87 actually does
It drives up the cost of everythingWhen a minimum wage increase is forced through too fast, local businesses have no choice but to pass the cost on to everyone. Groceries. Child care. Rent. Clothes. A cup of coffee. Any one of those hurts when you’re already stretched thin. All of them together are unbearable. And DC’s cost of living is already 39% above the national average.
Already the highest. Now the riskiest.DC already has the highest minimum wage of any state in the country. Initiative 87 would put us on faster and steeper increases than any American city has ever attempted — a first-of-its-kind gamble run on the backs of DC residents and small businesses.
This is the wrong timeInitiative 87 is a $25 mandate on a city already reeling from the loss of federal jobs. DC’s economy is still absorbing federal workforce cuts and a major budget shortfall. Layering a historic wage mandate on top of that doesn’t offset the damage — it compounds it. Full- and limited-service business closures increased 40% in 2025 alone.
$18.40
DC's minimum wage 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’re saying “no” to a policy that promises raises but delivers higher prices, fewer hours, and shuttered storefronts — at a moment DC simply can’t afford it. We can do better. We should demand better.
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