It's called the UAW. Every time they strike and get their major raises everything else follows.
Wages, vehicles and so forth.
But in doing so your does pay increase actually doesn't keep up with the cost of said items. $20 an hour sounds great but your rent went up, insurance, food. So are you really making more money?
Not really. You really need to shop smarter, look for deals, sales. Buy next years summer cloths in the fall. Fall hunting cloths in the spring and so forth.
Food is totally a different deal. Does driving 2 hours to better shopping cost less? Not too much unless you had to go that far for doctor's visit. You buy a months worth of food or more.