In the United State, the minimum wage laws state the lowest hourly wages employers are permitted to pay their workers. Currently, the federal minimum wage is at $7.25 per hour, but individual states can implement their own laws depending on the cost of living in their state. Since its passing in 1938, the federal minimum wage has increased 22 times. Labor Unions are in favor of raising the minimum wage too all Americans, not just labor union members. In 2016, New York passed an increase in the minimum wage to create a living wage for its citizens. When the local labor union president was asked on his opinion on the matter he stated, “When workers do well, our state thrives,” said 32BJ SEIU President Hector Figueroa in a statement.