COLUMBUS, Ohio (WTVN) -- On the second floor of the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at OSU on an early March day, Ohio's Democrat U.S. senator said boosting the federal minimum wage would be a welcomed boost for the working class.
Senator Sherrod Brown says America has seen productivity and profits go up, while wages have not raised.
"I don't know what my colleagues in the Senate will say, but I do know if they're out and listening to the public, they'll listen to these discussions and they'll move forward. That's my hope," Brown says.
Brown says he's always thought huge numbers of people want the higher minimum wage.
Senator Rob Portman responded to Brown's 'Working Too Hard for Too Little' plan by saying the Republican Senator has not yet had a chance to look it over.
Brown's plan calls for not only raising the federal minimum wage to $15; but also paying overtime to executive, administrative, and professional workers making less than $47,476 per year; making sure workers are able to earn up to seven paid sick days; and establishing 12-weeks of paid family and medical leave through a national paid leave fund.