New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a $15-per-hour minimum wage for 50,000 city employees, an increase that will see New York leading the #FightFor15 nationwide. The Democratic mayor pledged that low-wage union workers like pre-K teachers and crossing guards will see their wages increase by the end of 2018.

As of December 31st, 2015, the minimum wage in New York City is $9.00.

The Fight for 15 movement gained steam in 2015, with visible protests by fast-food workers demanding a living wage making national news. The organization started a national debate on wage stagnation and income inequality that spurred 14 states to raise their minimum wage on New Years Day. New York joins Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle in gradually raising paychecks to $15-per-hour.

Mayor de Blasio, who ran for office in 2013 on a platform of universal pre-K and the ending of controversial Stop and Frisk tactics, has seen his approval rating fall after widespread police brutality protests and the murder of two NYPD officers in 2014. The Democratic mayor is expected to run for re-election in 2017, but faces opposition from conservative voters and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who called an endorsement “premature.”