Dive Brief:

• In response to the Fight for $15 movement, Brad Anderson and Alfredo Ortiz, both with the organization Job Creators Network, say that it's time to start fighting for better salaries and training opportunities that pay American workers $50K annually.
• Anderson, the former CEO of Best Buy, and Ortiz advise that median wages are still stuck in the 1990s and that around half of all 30-somethings are earning less than what their parents did at the same age (based on wage reports and inflation rates). For men, its around 41%. Training more Americans without college degrees to take on careers paying at least $50K a year will help ease this issue, the group claims. 
• With rampant shortages in both the blue collar and white collar markets, as predicted by the US Department of Labor, more groups are focusing on ending the skills gap through apprenticeships and other college-alternative means.

Dive Insight:

While minimum wages have been increasing across the country, the skills gap still remains in several industries. Fight for $50 aims to end both.

Companies can take away several ideas. First, take a look at internal learning programs and identifying if certain employees are not getting the same opportunities to advance. Secondly, look for ways to bring in apprentices, veterans, and other displaced adult workers to learn the skills needed to take on good jobs across all industries.