By Holly Sklar

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune News Service, July 22, 2011 

Big company CEOs got a 23 percent raise last year and corporate profits are at record highs. But the minimum wage has less buying power now than in 1956 – the year Elvis Presley first topped the charts, videotape was breakthrough technology and the Dow closed above 500 for the very first time.

It’s no accident wages are down while corporate profits are up. As JPMorgan’s July 11 “Eye on the Market” newsletter put it,  “Reductions in wages and benefits explain the majority of...

By Megan Cottrell
Chicago Reporter, June 30, 2011

For the first time in five years, the state minimum wage won't go up today. From 2006 until 2009, the lowest wage that employers can pay their employees went from $6.50 to $8.25. And low-wage workers won't see their paychecks increase unless the Senate moves on a bill, SB 1565, that's currently stalled in committee.

Not only is the minimum wage not increasing in actual dollars, but its value has eroded too. According to Raise Illinois, a coalition of state organizations that are advocating to...

"If I were selecting a businessperson to be Citizen of the Year, I'd go with somebody like Lew Prince." Lew is a longtime BSP member. 

By Bill McClellan
St. Louis Post Dispatch, May 2, 2011

The great Motivational Seminar has come and gone — my 70 tickets never arrived — and it was, by all accounts, well-attended. Perhaps this means that our region will soon be surging forward. Thousands of motivated St. Louisans will be a mighty force for change!

Or maybe not.

Last week's "Get Motivated!" event — a swarm of celebrity speakers...

By Dave Jamieson
Huffington Post, April 28, 2011 

WASHINGTON -- Earlier this year, Missouri business leaders presented lawmakers with a six-point plan they said would bring jobs to the state during tough economic times. Since then, state Republicans have aggressively pushed the agenda and added their own legislative tweaks. Critics say the business-friendly platform is currently one of the most aggressive attacks on low-wage workers.

Backed by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and other trade groups, the "Fix the Six" plan includes a few of the business community's perennial gripes -- tort reform, workers' compensation...

By Lorraine Mirabella
The Baltimore Sun, April 10, 2011

Bridget Highkin works as hard now as she did two years ago. But then she brought home $800 a week from her waitressing job and today she's lucky to clear $300.

For now — until she completes a part-time nursing program and can find a job as a nurse — financial relief for her family hinges on a proposal to increase Maryland's hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.75 over three years. A few more dollars an hour would allow her to stop receiving assistance for day care and food, Highkin says.

By John Shepley
Op-Ed, Gazette (MD), April 8, 2011

As a small business owner, I support increasing Maryland's inadequate minimum wage because it makes good business sense. It's important for our economic recovery and progress.

Opponents of raising the minimum wage claim it's not the right time because the economy is weak. What they don't want you to remember is that for them the time is never right. In 2005, they opposed a raise in Maryland's minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $6.15. And they opposed federal legislation to raise the minimum wage in...

By Rudi Keller
Columbia Daily Tribune, March 30, 2011

JEFFERSON CITY — The House-passed bill to permanently link Missouri’s minimum wage to the federal minimum is corporate welfare that hurts low-income workers and small businesses, a St. Louis record store owner told a Senate committee yesterday.

Tom Ray, owner of Vintage Vinyl in Del Mar, said the bill, which would end the possibility that the state minimum wage could exceed the federal minimum, means fewer sales at his store.

“You are shooting the economy of this state in the foot,” Ray told the Senate Small...

More than 60 Maryland business owners, executives and organizations signed a petition to endorse legislation to increase the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $9.75 by 2013.

“There is room to improve the minimum wage,” Berna Rodman said.

Rodman started Antiochia her home-based business December 2007 in Crofton. The wholesaler sells traditional Turkish bath towels and soaps just off Johns Hopkins Road.

“I don’t have any employees at this moment. Even though I don’t pay anything right now, I still feel it [minimum wage] needs to catch up with the living standard,” she...

By Nicholas Sohr
Daily Record, Eye on Annapolis, March 29, 2011 

Four dozen business owners and executives signed on to a petition Tuesday urging the passage of legislation in Annapolis that would bump the state’s minimum wage to $9.75 an hour in 2013.

The statement read, in part: “With less buying power than it had in the 1950s and 60s, today’s minimum wage means poverty for working families and undermines our economy. A higher minimum wage makes good sense for our Maryland economy. It puts money in the hands of the people who will put...

Strong Wage Floor Vital for Maryland's Economy, Small Biz Owners Say

MARYLAND - Today nearly 60 Maryland business organizations, owners and executives endorsed legislation to raise the state's inadequate minimum wage to $9.75 per hour by 2013. Representing small businesses in the restaurant industry, retail, manufacturing, construction, auto repair, cleantech, healthcare, finance and more, the coalition stressed that a strong minimum wage should be a state priority because it will boost the consumer demand vital for job creation and promote a strong economy for Maryland's future.

http://www.citybizlist.com/1/2011/3/29/Nealy-60-Maryland-Business-Owner…

By Mimi Nguyen
KOMU News TV8 (NBC), Mar 29, 2011

WATCH VIDEO

JEFFERSON CITY- A Senate committee met Tuesday to discuss House Bill 61 and listen to testimony from proponents and opponents of the bill.

A new law would amend the 2006 voter-approved law that allows the minimum wage of Missouri to be adjusted according to the annual cost of living and inflation. The new law would prohibit Missouri's minimum wage from exceeding the federal minimum wage.

Missouri's current minimum wage is $7.25, the same as the federal rate.

Supporters of the bill say it...

By John Shepley
Carroll County Times, 3/22/11. Distributed by the American Forum.

As a small business owner, I support legislation to increase Maryland's inadequate minimum wage because it makes good business sense. It's an important part of our economic recovery and economic progress. I know businesses can pay a better minimum wage and still make a profit - it helps the business prosper.

Opponents of this legislation like the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, Maryland Retailers Association, and the Restaurant Association tell you the time is not right to increase the minimum wage because the economy...

By Andrew Damstedt
The Sentinel, March 16, 2011 

A job creator or a job killer is the debate circling two bills that would raise the minimum wage.

A bill backed by Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Fort Washington, in Congress would raise the minimum wage for tipped employees, while a bill facing debate in Annapolis would raise the minimum wage for tipped employees and the regular minimum wage.

The bill before the General Assembly would increase Maryland’s minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $9.75 per hour by 2013. Tipped employees would see their minimum wage rise...

Testimony on House Bill 988 on Raising the Maryland Minimum Wage
Before House Economic Matters Committee, March 8, 2011

Brian England, Co-Owner, British American Auto Care, Columbia, MD

My name is Brian England. I am co-owner with my wife of British American Auto Care Inc. an auto service and repair facility in Columbia. We have been in business since 1978 and our company has won many awards, including Maryland Small Business of the Year. Last year, we were one of five companies that were awarded the 2010 Maryland Green Registry Leadership Award. We pay our employees...

Jefferson City -- A bill that would repeal a 2006 voter initiative by capping the state minimum wage has moved to the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain.

The bill was a goal of House leadership, but their Senate counterparts haven't made it as much of a priority. Senate President Pro Tem Rob Mayer said he didn't know when - or even if - the chamber would take up the bill.

"Others have been a greater priority for me," he said.

The bill would cap the state minimum wage at the federal level, which is...