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Saugerties Post Star, March 5, 2013

Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright joined with Labor Committee Chair Carl E. Heastie and members of the Assembly Majority to announce plans to pass legislation (A.38a) today to raise the minimum wage in New York to $9 an hour. The legislation includes indexing which will tie future increases to inflation.

“Our proposal will directly benefit more than 925,000 New Yorkers. It will benefit families trapped between the desire for financial independence and the constant erosion of their wages. By passing this legislation, we will be rewarding hard work with a wage families can live on,” said Silver. “Opponents say that raising the minimum wage will hurt small businesses. But let me point out that the majority of low-wage workers are employed not by mom-and-pop shops but by the large chains which have posted steady profits even during recent periods of economic hardship.” ...

The minimum wage in New York State has increased only ten cents in the last six years. It has remained stagnant at $7.25 an hour since 2009. At this rate, a full-time worker is earning just over $15,000 a year. This salary is so low that most full-time employees supporting a family on minimum wage are eligible for taxpayer-funded public assistance programs. …

“Raising the minimum wage makes good business sense in three ways: productivity, profitability and prosperity. With more adequate wages, businesses experience decreased worker turnover and greater worker morale and productivity. Nothing drives business owners like me to hire additional workers more than increased consumer demand. And raising the minimum wage puts more money in the hands of the very people who most need to spend it. That means more revenues for businesses, and a stronger, more prosperous economy creating lasting new jobs. Our workforce, businesses and communities need a minimum wage raise now,” [said] Darius Ross, managing partner of D Alexander Ross Real Estate Capital Partners and a member of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. ...

Boosting the minimum wage will have a positive effect on the economy. States that have enacted minimum wages above the federal rate have experienced higher rates of growth in companies, job creation and payroll. Low-wage workers are likely to spend extra earnings immediately on basic needs or services. They support their families by spending their income at businesses located closest to home, in their communities.

“Raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour not only helps 1.7 million New York workers but it will add more than 10,000 badly-needed jobs and boost the state’s economy by $1.2 billion because consumer spending will rise in every community in our state. This also helps the parents of over 900,000 children, and one out of three single parents will see their wages rise. This is a real boost for New York families,” said James A. Parrott, deputy director and chief economist of Fiscal Policy Institute. ...

“I work for the minimum wage, so I can tell you from personal experience that it's not enough to make ends meet, much less raise a family,” said Amador Rivas, a member of Make the Road New York's Workplace Justice Committee. ...

The legislation calls for the minimum wage to increase to $9 an hour in January of 2014. Beginning in 2015, the minimum wage will be indexed, requiring an increase each year to adjust for inflation according to the Consumer Price Index. The measure will also set wages for food service workers who receive tips at $6.21. ...

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