<P> Seventy - five million workers earned hourly wages in the United States in 2012 , making up 59 % of employees . In the United States , wages for most workers are set by market forces , or else by collective bargaining , where a labor union negotiates on the workers ' behalf . The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes a minimum wage at the federal level that all states must abide by , among other provisions . Fourteen states and a number of cities have set their own minimum wage rates that are higher than the federal level . For certain federal or state government contacts , employers must pay the so - called prevailing wage as determined according to the Davis - Bacon Act or its state equivalent . Activists have undertaken to promote the idea of a living wage rate which account for living expenses and other basic necessities , setting the living wage rate much higher than current minimum wage laws require . The minimum wage rate is there to protect the well being of the working class . </P>
<P> Seventy - five million workers earned hourly wages in the United States in 2012 , making up 59 % of employees . In the United States , wages for most workers are set by market forces , or else by collective bargaining , where a labor union negotiates on the workers ' behalf . The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes a minimum wage at the federal level that all states must abide by , among other provisions . Fourteen states and a number of cities have set their own minimum wage rates that are higher than the federal level . For certain federal or state government contacts , employers must pay the so - called prevailing wage as determined according to the Davis - Bacon Act or its state equivalent . Activists have undertaken to promote the idea of a living wage rate which account for living expenses and other basic necessities , setting the living wage rate much higher than current minimum wage laws require . The minimum wage rate is there to protect the well being of the working class . </P>
what are the major determinant of workers pay
what are the major determinant of workers pay
market forces , or else by collective bargaining
market forces , or else by collective bargaining