DC Deserves Better than Initiative 87

INITIATIVE 87 is a false promise.

The places you love in the District of Columbia are under pressure. Initiative 87 would make things much worse — for workers, businesses, and you.

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What This is Really About

HERE’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 prices 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 Know

What initiative 87 actually does 

It drives up the cost of everything

Childcare. Healthcare. Rent. Groceries. A cup of coffee. Every business that employs hourly workers gets hit — and those costs get passed to you. DC's cost of living is already 39% above the national average.

Higher wages, smaller paychecks

When labor costs spike too far, too fast, businesses cut hours, reduce shifts, and replace people with automation. More per hour often means less per week — and sometimes no job at all.

Too extreme, too fast

DC already leads the nation in minimum wage. Full- and limited-service business closures increased 40% in 2025 alone. An extreme wage spike at this moment destabilizes an already fragile economy.

$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 DC

Real People.
Real Consequences.

These stories reflect the experiences of real DC workers, diners, and operators whose livelihoods depend on getting this right.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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 News

What 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 Are

DC 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 can’t support a policy that misleads by promising raises while delivering layoffs, closures, and higher prices for everyone. DC can do better. We should demand better.

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