Companies make profit off of every employee
When the wages of the bulk of their employees gets frozen for eight years, they make even more profit. During that eight year period: The price of supplies, taxes, real estate, advertising, insurance and even executive pay has risen and the companies have adjusted to the market
Yet, when the lowest paid worker in the company wants higher wages....the company claims they will go bankrupt
Okay, let's be logical here.
First, companies make money off the work from every employee or the employee doesn't works for them. That means that if you artificially raise their pay with no corresponding revenue increase, some of them will be added to the "no longer works here" category.
Second, companies are not saying they will go bankrupt if we raise the MW. They're saying they will go bankrupt if we double their labor costs overnight and they can't raise prices high enough to offset the increase. It's a matter of degree.
Third, the employees who made the minimum 8 years ago are not the same employees making the minimum today. If they are, something is wrong, because as you gain skills and experience, you become more valuable. If the company doesn't recognize that increase in value with more pay, you go somewhere that will.