Labor leaders and supporters of the Fight for $15 protest movement celebrated another victory on Wednesday after New York State's wage board decided to raise minimum wage for fast food workers to $15 per hour.

A special panel appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the Fast Food Wage Board recommended that the state set a $15 minimum wage for fast food workers at chains with more than 30 locations over the next few years, reports Time.

Once the order is approved by New York State's acting commissioner of labor as expected, the minimum wage for fast food workers in the city would first rise to $15 per hour by 2018 due to the higher cost of living. Wages would then expand to the same level for workers living upstate by the year 2021.

This jump represents a 70-percent increase in wages for New York City workers who earn the state's current minimum wage of $8.75 an hour.

According to The New York Times, a fast food restaurant is defined as an eatery where "fast food as food and drinks served at counters where customers pay before eating and can take their food with them if they choose."

Advocates argued that taxpayers were subsidizing the workforces of some global corporations, like McDonald's, since their workers depended on food stamps and other government assistance programs in order to compensate for their low wages.

Gov. Cuomo applauded the decision and predicted that other states would follow his lead.

"When New York acts, the rest of the states follow," he said, making reference to the state's move to legalize same-sex marriage, according to The New Yoek Times. "We've always been different, always been first, always been the most progressive."

However, opponents in the restaurant industry balked at the decision.

"We continue to say that we think it's unfair that they singled out a single segment of our industry," said Melissa Fleischut, the executive director of the New York State Restaurant Association.