Tuesday, May 20, turned into an iconic day for the labor force in City of Angels, as the Los Angeles City Council gave its initial approval to the raise in minimum wage from $9 an hour to $15 an hour. The new law is to take effect July 2020.

With a vote of 14 to 1, the council effectively secured a brighter tomorrow for the more than 567,000 members of the city's labor force. Winning over the country's second most populous city marks a significant victory for minimum wage hike advocates and their allies all over the United States.

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As Angelinos will know, the minimum wage issue practically tore the city in two. Large corporations accumulated on one side, warning about the economical dangers of the advocacy to smaller firms and businesses. On the other hand, minimum wage advocates felt it was time to protect the financial future of those hardworking citizens still struggling to rise above the business ladder.

Los Angeles is the largest city among its West Coast neighbors to adopt the $15 minimum wage, the rest of which includes Seattle, Oakland, and San Francisco, all cities within California. Back on the other side of the country, New York City is still considering taking similar steps and ramping up their minimum wage as well. East Coast neighbor Washington D.C. is similarly on the fence about the move to a higher wage.

As political activists and minimum wage increase advocates take to the United States' major cities one at a time, others are taking the fight to big businesses themselves. Some activists have conducted mass protests against fast-food chains, one of the biggest employers of minimum wage workers in the country.

Many of these advocates said that raising minimum wage does a lot more than just help struggling employees. It also helps balance out income inequality and empower the nation's own struggle for fiscal recovery.

The first of the incremental pay increase is set to begin in July 2016, effectively increasing Los Angeles' wage to $10.50 per hour. By 2020, the $15 hike would have taken full effect.

TagsLos Angeles, Minimum Wage, wage increase