MetroWest Daily News: Four items on area businesses: Minimum wage hike in Mass. draws support

MetroWest Daily News (MA), Dec 27, 2019. Also in Milford Daily News and many other papers

Massachusetts will start the new year with a minimum wage raise along with 20 other states. The Massachusetts minimum increases to $12.75 on Jan. 1 and then increases by 75 cents a year to reach $15 in 2023. Area business leaders say that raising the minimum wage increases consumer buying power, fosters a more stable and productive workforce, and strengthens businesses and communities. These supporters include Megan Driscoll, founder of PharmaLogics Recruiting; Dan Rosenberg, founder of Real Pickles; Michael Kanter, co-owner of Cambridge Naturals; and Rob Everts, co-CEO of Equal Exchange. More than 300 business owners from across Massachusetts advocated with Business for a Fair Minimum Wage for the increase to $15, which was signed into law in 2018. Massachusetts is one of six states (California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and New York are the others) with minimum wage raises to start the new year that are on track to reach $15 in coming years. Washington D.C.’s minimum wage will reach $15 on July 1, 2020, and on Sept. 1, 2020, Connecticut will raise its minimum wage in a step toward $15 by 2023.