$15 Minimum Wage in Rhode Island?

Hundreds of workers on Tuesday descended on Providence City Hall, demanding the local officials raise the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour.

"The 1 percent has grown by leaps and bounds," Paul Doughty, president of the Providence firefighters union, told the City Council, according to the Providence Journal. "It is time to fix the injustice."

States across the country are considering legislation to raise the minimum wage. Rhode Island's minimum wage is currently $8 an hour, while the federal rate is $7.25. Officials in Seattle, Wash. recently approved a $15 minimum wage—the highest in the country. President Obama has supported a plan to increase the federal wage to $10.10.

Opponents of minimum wage hikes say they hurt business by increasing operational costs.

Raising the minimum wage in Providence "could have significant and negative effects on Providence’s recovering hospitality and tourism industry," Paul DeRoche, vice president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, told the City Council, according to the Journal.

Fast food workers across the country have been demanding a $15 minimum wage. Employees earlier this month held rallies in Providence and Warwick.

Should Providence—or all of Rhode Island—raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour? Share your opinion in the comments.