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Calls to raise minimum wage return with Labor Day

Steve Carmody/Michigan Radio

DETROIT (AP) - A call to raise the minimum wage has returned in the run-up to Labor Day.

It's come in the form of worker rallies and a report finding Michigan ranks second-to-worst among states for wage growth during the past 30 years.

Fast-food workers in Detroit, Flint, Lansing and elsewhere protested Thursday demanding higher wages. They seek $15 an hour - more than double the federal minimum wage of $7.25.

The nonprofit advocacy group Michigan League for Public Policy released a study a day later also calling for an increase. The report finds Michigan's median wage fell by 7 percent between 1982 and 2012 after adjusting for inflation - the biggest wage drop of all 50 states after Alaska.

Critics say hiking the minimum wage would hurt employers' ability to hire.

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting.
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