By Shane Richard Bell
North Idaho Business Journal, Jan 29, 2013

... 10 states and two cities officially raised their minimum wages on Jan. 1. Idaho wasn’t one of those states. In fact, Idaho’s state minimum wage matches that of the federal minimum wage at $7.25 an hour. A tipped employee in Idaho makes $3.35 per hour.

Washington and Montana, Idaho’s neighbors, pay their tipped workers more than twice as much per hour than Idaho.

In Montana, for a tipped employee, the minimum wage is $7.80. In Washington, a tipped employee earns $9.04 per hour, and a...

By Emma Beck
USA Today, Jan 29, 2013

Nearly half the states have increased their minimum wage this year or are considering plans to hike it as the economy transitions from recession to a stronger recovery. Thirteen states have weighed wage increases since Jan. 1. Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Hawaii are among the most recent. ... In nine other states, automatic wage hikes took effect, adding 10 to 35 cents per hour to state minimum wages. In a 10th state, an increase approved by the Rhode Island Legislature last June raised the state's minimum from...

By Michael Gormley
Associated Press, Jan 24, 2013

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York state legislators on Wednesday began privately discussing a new way to increase the state's minimum wage after Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave the long-blocked effort a big boost in his proposed budget.

Cuomo on Tuesday proposed to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $8.75. He didn't, however, include a provision from the Assembly's proposal that would index the wage to inflation to create automatic increases. That worried advocates for the working poor who say the buying power of a...

By Kate Havard
Washington Post, January 23, 2013

On Tuesday, Maryland lawmakers and activists launched “Raise Maryland,” an effort to raise the state’s minumum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10 per hour by 2015.

“We like to say we live in the wealthiest state in America,” said Del. Aisha Braveboy (D-Prince George’s County) “Well, how much do you think it costs to live in the wealthiest state in America?” More than the minimum wage earner can afford, she said.

"When the minimum wage was at its greatest value it was 45 years ago in 1968,”...

http://youtu.be/Ddi_RQKjSrs

Op-Ed By David Bolotsky
Albany Times Union, Jan 21, 2013

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has demonstrated his commitment to a sustainable economic recovery in New York by calling for an increase in the state minimum wage, from an inadequate rate of $7.25 per hour to $8.75. New York's minimum wage has not changed since 2007, and the governor's leadership will hopefully break the political gridlock.

As a business owner, my greatest hope is that the governor and the Legislature decide to index the minimum wage to rise automatically with the cost of living each year. This...

HR and Employment Law News, Jan 17, 2013

Pennsylvania Senator Christine Tartaglione recently announced plans to reintroduce legislation, formerly S.B. 235 of 2011–2012, which would provide for a cost-of-living adjustment to Pennsylvania’s minimum wage law.

“For several decades, wages of low and middle income workers have remained fairly stagnant, while wages of the highest paid workers have increased steadily,” Senator Tartaglione said in a written statement. …

Ten states have set their minimum wages to increase automatically based on inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index or other cost-of-living factor. Those states include Arizona...

Op-Ed by Jeff Furman
Chair of the Board of Directors, Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc
Huffington Post, Jan. 10, 2013

With working families in New York still struggling to make ends meet in this sluggish economic recovery, Albany lawmakers should consider a full range of policies to create jobs and boost economic growth when the new legislative session begins in January. For the sake of New York's lowest-paid workers -- and for the countless businesses across the state whose sales are shrinking because too many consumers cannot afford basic expenses -- raising New York's minimum...

Op-Ed by Darius Ross
Distributed by American Forum, Dec. 27, 2012. Known placements include Detroit News, Trenton Times, Montgomery Advertiser (AL), Atlanta Inquirer, Madison Capital Times, Times & Democrat (SC), Durham Herald Sun (NC),  Asbury Park Press (NJ), La Prensa San Diego, Fall River Herald News (MA), North Dallas Gazette, many more

As a longtime businessman, I see a deficit in America that has received far too little attention. Thats the wage deficit experienced by growing numbers of Americans, with serious consequences for our economy.

On January 1, the minimum wage increases in Rhode Island...

By Melanie Trottman
Wall Street Journal, Dec 23, 2012

A dozen states and cities will raise their minimum wages on Jan. 1, and efforts are afoot in Congress and several state legislatures to push through increases next year, spurring fresh debate about whether such efforts would help or hurt the already sluggish economic recovery.

The minimum wage will increase in 10 states—including Florida, Ohio and Colorado—as well as San Francisco and Albuquerque, N.M., on Jan. 1. San Jose, Calif., will raise its minimum wage in March. Ten of the increases are inflation-related triggers, while the...

By Matthew Wong
Inc., Nov 29, 2012 

When entrepreneur and Inc. 30 Under 30 alum Nikhil Arora received an email from the White House last Thursday to attend a small business meeting, he didn’t know exactly what to expect or even who from the Obama administration would be present. …

When the group arrived at the Roosevelt Room in the White House, they took their seats across from President Obama and senior White House staff members. Then, after water was served, they got down to it. The group launched into a conversation that covered a cross-section of topics, including capital...

By James Fallows
The Atlantic, Nov 23, 2012 

... Just before Thanksgiving, following the observations of a Boston bartender, I published messages from several readers on the importance of raising the minimum wage. In real terms, the minimum wage has gone steadily down; these readers argued that keeping it even with inflation, or better yet moving it substantially ahead, would help lower-income Americans while not hurting the economy as a whole. 

Now some responses. ...

2) The words of Ron Unz. A very large number of readers pointed me to an essay in the American Conservative...

By David Howard King and Kamelia Kilawan
Gotham Gazette, Nov 20, 2012

NEW YORK — Earlier this week, at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Chelsea, about 50 people waited in line  with cafeteria trays to have an early Thanksgiving lunch consisting of an apple, hot sandwich and cider.

As they came to the end of the line, they were asked to sign a card appealing to New York State Senators to pass legislation to raise the minimum wage by $1.25 to $8.25.

It is unclear whether politicians will be listening to the message...

Republicans cite storm as excuse to 'keep people down'

Common Dreams, Nov 20, 2012

New Jersey Republicans attempted to sideline a new proposal to raise the minimum wage to $8.50 from $7.25 an hour and provide annual cost-of-living increases.

The Budget Committee in the Democratically controlled House advanced the bill by a 7-6 vote, and the Senate is expected to deliver final approval next week, The Inquirer reports.

House GOP members cited the capacious storm recovery as a reason to wait on the bill, for fear the wage increase would add undue labor costs to...

Op-Ed By Melanie Beam
Journal News and other papers, Nov 18, 2012
Distributed by American Forum 

After missing an opportunity earlier this year to pass an increase in New York’s minimum wage, the state Legislature is now expected to convene a special session in the coming weeks to consider a pay raise — for themselves.

As a business person and advocate for upstate local businesses, I cannot help but shake my head in disbelief. A minimum wage increase should take priority over a pay raise for legislators — not the other way around.

An increased...