Op-Ed By Aaron Seyedian
Capital Gazette, March 22, 2023

As a small business owner, I am encouraged to see Gov. Wes Moore and lawmakers recognize that Maryland’s minimum wage has fallen behind the cost of living.

An eroded minimum wage is bad for workers, businesses and our economy.

Raising the minimum wage will boost consumer spending, which boosts local businesses. Minimum wage increases go right back into the economy and help businesses like mine grow and add jobs.

Moore’s plan to address the rising cost of living by speeding up implementation of Maryland’s $15 minimum...

Op-Ed By Aaron Bartley, Owner, FITZ Books and Waffles

As a small business owner, I know that we need people who work for a living to be able to make a living. ... Raising the minimum wage is a critical investment.

By Nick Reisman
Spectrum News, March 17, 2023

... Supporters of the wage increase pointed to the backing from small business owners, including Annie Adams, the owner of Second Chic in Buffalo, a consignment business. 

“When workers in our community make more, they are going to spend more at local businesses. It will inject revenues and vitality into our small businesses," Adams said. "I’ve seen firsthand how investing in employees generates business growth. Both of our locations have incredible followings because the team knows the inventory and love to help customers when they are shopping. There is no way we...

Op-Ed By Gov. Wes Moore
The Baltimore Sun, March 17, 2023

When I made the decision to run for governor, I couldn’t help but think about the person who first inspired me to live a life of public service. ... [My mother] worked multiple jobs — and didn’t get a position with benefits and a stable wage until I was 14 years old. But she kept pushing, and when she finally did get that job, she found a role that didn’t just change the trajectory of her life, it changed the trajectory of our entire family...

By Robert Harding
The Citizen, March 15, 2023

... The New York Business for a Fair Minimum Wage Coalition, with more than 250 members, endorsed the Raise the Wage Act. ... The coalition highlighted a Data for Progress poll released in January that found 80% of likely voters in New York either strongly or somewhat support the Raise the Wage Act. In upstate regions, at least two-thirds of voters said they support the legislation.

Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said it helps businesses when customers have more money to spend...

WBFO (NPR), March 15, 2023

... Hear from Johanna Dominguez, owner of Put a Plant On It in Buffalo, an Elmwood Village plant shop that specializes in rare plants, interior plant decorating and even plant sitting. She recently joined with a coalition of business owners to advocate for an increase in New York State's minimum wage and pushes back against the idea that it would hurt business.

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By Adina Genn
Long Island Business News, March 13, 2023

A coalition is fighting to increase the minimum wage for New Yorkers to $21.25 by 2026. Members of the Raise UP NY coalition held a press conference in Uniondale last week, urging New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature to raise the state’s minimum wage. Advocates say that on Long Island it should be raised by 2026, and then adjusted automatically each year to keep up with not only rising costs of living but also gains in worker productivity..

“The current minimum wage doesn’t reflect...

By Garrett Dvorkin
Baltimore Business Journal, March 13, 2023

Gina Schaefer is going to raise the minimum wage at her ACE Hardware stores ... and keep raising it to match inflation every year, no matter what the Maryland General Assembly does this year.

Schafer, who operates 15 stores in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., has a policy to pay employees based on the highest salary requirements of all her store locations. D.C. moves its minimum wage from $16.10 to $17 on July 1, and will increase the minimum wage to keep up with the Consumer Price Index...

By Edwin Viera
Fingerlakes1.com, March 9, 2023 

A bill in the New York State Legislature would increase the minimum wage to over $20 by 2026. ...

Alissa Barron-Menza, vice president of the group Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, described how raising the minimum wage could reduce small business employee turnover.

“When we raise the minimum wage,” said Barron-Menza, “that pays off for businesses in lower turnover, reduced hiring and training costs, fewer errors, and better productivity as workers can afford to stick around longer and get to know your business better. And, ultimately better customer service which...

By  Edwin J. Viera
Public News Service, March 9, 2023, run by more than 100 outlets across New York and nationally

A bill in the New York State Legislature would increase the minimum wage to over $20 by 2026. ...

Alissa Barron-Menza, vice president of the group Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, described how raising the minimum wage could reduce small business employee turnover.

"When we raise the minimum wage," said Barron-Menza, "that pays off for businesses in lower turnover, reduced hiring and training costs, fewer errors, and better productivity as workers can afford to...

By Samantha Christmann
Buffalo News, March 7, 2023. Also in the Auburn Citizen, Post Star (Glens Falls)

The state's minimum wage is headed toward $15 per hour. But a group of business owners said it doesn't go far enough to ensure an appropriate wage for working people, and are pushing to tie the minimum wage to inflation. Advocates of the Raise the Wage Act say gains made by minimum wage increases have been eroded by inflation. The bill calls for indexing the minimum wage – tying it to inflation rates and moving the minimum wage by...

By Andy Medici
The Business Journals, March 6, 2023

A majority of business leaders and executives support annual increases in the federal minimum wage, according to a new survey by compensation data and services firm PayScale Inc.

The survey of compensation professionals, human resources leaders and business executives found 75% of U.S. respondents agreed the federal minimum wage should be increased. About 66% said the minimum wage, which currently stands at $7.25 per hour, should go up automatically every year to keep up pace with the cost of living. ...

The federal minimum wage, however, has remained unchanged...

By Alex Crichton
WXXI (NPR) Rochester, March 2, 2023

Radio story includes Alissa Barron-Menza and New York Business for a Fair Minimum Wage coalition.

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By Karen Juanita Carrillo
New York Amsterdam News, March 2, 2023

More than 200 New York businesses and business organizations have signed on to the New York Business for a Fair Minimum Wage statement, which calls for passage of legislation that would raise the state’s minimum wage and index future increases to the cost of living.

The business owners signing on to the statement say they believe that with higher salaries, wage earners will become confident consumers who will have the income to help spur the local economy.

“Prices have increased but the minimum...

By David Lombardo
The Capitol Pressroom, March 1, 2023

New York Senate Labor Committee Chair Jessica Ramos and Aaron Bartley, a Buffalo business owner, make the case for raising the minimum wage and argue that Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposal doesn't go far enough.

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