Assemblyman Edward Hennessey (D-Medford) announced that legislation he sponsored to increase the minimum wage to $9.00 per hour beginning in January 2014 passed the Assembly (A.38-A). Starting in 2015, the bill would also index the minimum wage to inflation, which would reflect annual changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Additionally, this legislation would set wages to $6.21 per hour for food service workers who receive tips.
“It is no longer the question of whether families can live on the minimum wage; it’s whether they can survive on the minimum wage,” Assemblyman Hennessey said.
Currently, the neighboring states of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont have higher minimum wages than New York State, as do 16 other states and the District of Columbia. Ten other states have already passed legislation indexing the minimum wage to inflation. New York’s minimum wage has increased just 10 cents per hour in the last six years and was last raised when the federal minimum wage increased from $7.15 to $7.25 an hour in 2009.
“This is an important step toward ensuring that workers receive livable wages in order to provide for their families,” Assemblyman Hennessey said. “With no real wage increase for the last six years, working families cannot keep up with inflationary price increases and local businesses are feeling the effect of a lack of sales revenue.”
From 2002 to 2012, the percent increase in CPI ranged from 1.6 percent to 3.8 percent annually. Over that time, gasoline prices rose 169 percent; education 72 percent; household energy costs 49 percent; medical care 45 percent; groceries 32 percent; and clothing 2 percent.i
In addition, studies show that even a $1.00 increase to the minimum wage would result in over $3,200 in new consumer spending by each minimum-wage worker’s household over the following year.ii The increase in spending will likely be spent at local businesses.
“Raising the minimum wage is long overdue and I hope the State Senate will join us in helping New York’s working families.” Assemblyman Hennessey concluded.
i. www. assembly.state.ny.us/ssspolicy/2013minwage.pdf
ii. National Employment Law Project, www.demos.org/sites/default/files/publications/worthworkingfor_goodjobs_Demos.pdf
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