Raising Wisconsin’s minimum wage would significantly cut poverty. So why is it still $7.25? Thousands of residents in Wisconsin — many of them people of color — would see a higher standard of living if politicians raised the long-stalled minimum wage. July 20, 2021 12:01 AM Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism Posted: Updated: James Rudd is seen outside of his workplace at the AT&T building in downtown Milwaukee, where he works as a janitor, on July 13, 2021. Rudd is fighting to double the minimum wage in Wisconsin from $7.25 per hour to $15 per hour. Rudd says he now makes more than $15 an hour — and thinks everyone should make at least that. “Fifteen dollars is just a start. We want to take vacations. We want to be able to live the American dream,” he says. (Isaac Wasserman / Wisconsin Watch)