Albany, New York – During his Tuesday State of the Union address, President Obama announced his support of increasing to increase the minimum wage to $9.00 an hour in 2014. This week, New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver amended his minimum wage legislation, which previously would have raised statutory minimum to $8.50, to match the Presidents’ higher target.
“I applaud the Speaker for acting quickly and aligning with the President on this issue,” said Assemblymember Cahill, “The last time we acted to significantly adjust the minimum wage was in 2007. Over the past five years, New York’s minimum wage has only increased 10 cents per hour, which is not enough for full-time workers earning the lowest amount legally allowed to survive.”
According to the National Employment Law Project, in studies that span almost two decades, employment levels before and after minimum wage increases have found that higher wage floors did not lead to job loss, even during periods of high unemployment. In fact, states with higher minimum wages also report faster job growth.
“A person who works full time at minimum wage in New York barley makes $15,000 a year. For a single parent with two children this is over $4,000 dollars below the federally calculated poverty line,” said Assemblymember Cahill. “That society allows people to work for 40 hours a week but still earn less than can sustain their families, is deplorable. Raising the minimum wage will help working people to pull themselves out of poverty.”
“I am pleased that the New York State Assembly is stepping up to the plate with the increase of the minimum wage, thanks to the noble effort of Assemblypersons such as our own Kevin Cahill. It may not be a ‘living wage,’ but it is a start. The result will help the low end wage earners without affecting businesses like Woodstock Chimes that have been paying well over the minimum wage since its inception in 1979,” said Garry Kvistad, Founder and Owner of Woodstock Percussion Inc.
Eighteen states, including neighboring Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont currently set minimum levels higher than New York. The plan would also call for annual adjustments tied to inflation, so that New Yorkers will no longer have to endure a lag time between increases in the price of goods and the legislative action it takes to raise their wages.
“In addition to increased wages, it is important that the New York State strictly enforce current wage laws. Whether it is a malicious employer who unlawfully deducts from an employees paycheck or the hire of a person desperate enough to work for less than they are legally entitled, it is our job to ensure that the current wage of $7.25 an hour is in enforced.”
Click the link below to watch Assemblymember Cahill speak on the floor of the Assembly during last year’s vote on a minimum wage increase to $8.50.
http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Kevin-A-Cahill/media/
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