Democratic party platform calls for $15 minimum wage in win for Sanders

Clinton lays low before a possible Sanders endorsement

Sen. Bernie Sanders' effort to shape the Democratic Party's election platform scored a major victory Friday with the approval of an amendment calling for increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour.
The self-described "democratic socialist" from Vermont had repeatedly called for the increase during his surprisingly strong campaign for the Democratic nomination. His opponent, presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton, had backed a $12 minimum wage, while saying she approved a $15 minimum wage in certain places.
An early draft of the platform contained language more consistent with Clinton’s position, saying that “Americans should earn at least $15 an hour” without explicitly calling for that to be the new federal minimum.
However, the party's 187-member Platform Committee approved an amendment saying an increase from the current federal minimum of $7.25 an hour to $15 should happen “over time."
Sanders supporter Benjamin Jealous, a former NAACP president who serves as a member of the committee, called the amendment "a victory for the Bernie Sanders campaign and for working people across the country."

Still, Sanders' supporters want more changes before the platform committee completes its work Saturday. Many were wearing stickers stressing that they want the platform to oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which Clinton has come out against but Obama supports. They also want a carbon tax to address climate change and seek a freeze on hydraulic fracking.

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The roughly 15,000-word platform is a nonbinding document that serves as a guidepost for the party. After the Orlando meeting, the document will be voted on at the convention in Philadelphia this month. The draft under review already shows Sanders' influence, as it endorses steps to break up large Wall Street banks and urges an end to the death penalty.

Also on Friday night, the committee narrowly backed an amendment to strike mentions of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump's name in the platform.

The Sanders and Clinton campaigns are still discussing policy areas where they can reach agreement, including ways to expand access to health care coverage. Clinton's campaign outlined plans earlier this week to expand college affordability and place a three-month moratorium on student loan payments, a proposal that was developed with the Sanders campaign.

For many Democrats, the endorsement is overdue. Sanders' reluctance to endorse Clinton drew catcalls from Democratic lawmakers during a private meeting this week. While he has hung back, other party leaders have coalesced around Clinton.

"He ran a remarkable campaign; he didn't win," said Bob Shrum, a longtime Democratic strategist and politics professor at the University of Southern California. "Hillary Clinton and her campaign have handled him very well. I think the time is coming to resolve this and to prepare for a convention where hopefully he will give a powerful speech."

Back in 2008, after a bruising primary race against then-Sen. Barack Obama, Clinton ended her presidential bid and endorsed him in a speech on June 7. The two then campaigned together in Unity, N.H., three weeks later. Asked Wednesday why he was not doing the same, Sanders told CNN he was working to ensure "we have the strongest Democratic platform out there that represents working families, and we have made good progress on that."

Sanders could take these issue fights to the Democratic convention and his campaign is making sure it is ready to do so. His aides stress his millions of votes and his highly motivated delegates to the convention. Still, Clinton will have more delegates in attendance.

"He's earned the right to stay on the clock," said Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, a Sanders delegate who has endorsed Clinton since she became the presumptive nominee. Sanders' presence and voice, Grijalva said, will be important to unity.