WASHINGTON (AP) — Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez teamed up with the top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee, to meet Monday with kitchen workers at a local restaurant and deliver a lunchtime plea for Congress to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10.

The increase has been a top second-term political priority for President Barack Obama and his allies in Congress. Obama himself pushed the measure again Saturday in his weekly address.