In Texas, the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, the same as the federal minimum wage. Cities in the Lone Star State are limited in their ability to raise minimum hourly pay -- except for when it comes to what cities can pay their own employees.
In Denton, one member of city council is trying to gain support for a proposal to create a "living wage" for city employees and contractors.
"As much as we love our jobs, that's why most of us work, I think," said Deb Armintor. "To pay to live."
When Arrmintor won election to Denton city council last year, she looked into raising the minimum wage.
"For me, first and foremost, it's about our moral responsibility," she said.
The minimum wage in Texas has stayed the same for a decade, even as thirty other states have raised theirs. But state law does allow cities to set their own minimum wage for municipal employees and contractors. Armintor wants to raise Denton's minimum to $15 an hour.
"We need to make sure the people who we employ in this city can afford to live in this city," she said.
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Armintor, and other city council members discussed her proposal during a session this week. Support is up in the air, she said, although council members are still in the process of gathering data. Two council members support the idea, said Armintor. Two oppose it, and others are undecided.
A report which came out earlier this year highlights the struggle to make ends meet for many Texas families. In February, the United Way of Texas reported that 40% of households in the state -- and nearly half of families in Denton - don't make enough to meet their basic needs. Many are above the poverty line, but barely making enough to get by, according to the report.
"Financially it's a big struggle," said Quashondra Harris, a single mother of five from Denton. "Just getting by, it's very frustrating. I try not to cry but it's hard not to cry."
Harris moved here two years ago from Minnesota, for family reasons. Since relocating to Denton, life has presented struggles. Harris works two jobs, making $9 and $12 an hour respectively. She says she puts in between 60 and 70 hours a week. But even that, she says, is hardly enough.
"That's just getting by," said Harris. "That's not enough to pay the rent. I still have bills."
Harris says she tries to stay positive. She credits her two oldest children with helping out around the house, especially when she works overnight shifts at a local manufacturing facility.
"I want to teach my kids how to live and survive, instead of surviving all the time," she said. "We're just surviving."
Stories like that drove Armintor’s initial inquiry into a living wage for all of Denton. She would like to see a broader statewide minimum wage hike, eventually, but doesn’t know if that will happen. For now, she’ll focus on what she believes she can accomplish.
"The people who make Denton great, if they can't afford to live here, they will at some point stop living here," she said. "I consider it the fiscally and morally responsible thing to do."
