WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Voters in New Jersey and SeaTac, Wash., sent "a clear signal" to politicians by approving higher minimum wages standards, a national advocate said Wednesday.

"The voters understand that we cannot build a recovery on low-wage jobs – and when elected officials don't get the message, the voters will take action to raise wages on their own," Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, said in a statement. ...

"At $7.25, the minimum wage has less buying power now than it did in 1950," Director of Business for...

By Susan K. Livio
The Star-Ledger, Nov 5, 2013

TRENTON — New Jersey voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot question today that will raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.25 an hour in January and amends the state Constitution to tie future increases to inflation. ...

“A higher minimum wage will actually help business owners by reducing absenteeism and worker turnover, which costs businesses way more than nickel and dime-ing on wages," Mitch Cahn, president of Unionwear, a clothing manufacturer in Newark with 120 employees, said. "Secure workers earning a living wage are productive workers...

By Maddie Hanna
Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov 5, 2013

Increasing New Jersey's minimum wage now and through annual cost-of-living raises will help workers and boost the economy. Or it will force businesses to increase prices and cut hours, hurting consumers and workers. Through radio ads, pamphlets, and news conferences, dueling campaigns are trying to reach voters about a ballot question that would amend the state constitution to increase the minimum wage by $1, to $8.25 an hour, and tie future increases to the Consumer Price Index. ...

If the measure passes, New Jersey will join 18 states...

By Andrew George
NJBiz, Oct 29, 2013

Both supporters and opponents of a constitutional amendment to raise the state's minimum wage by $1 to $8.25 have just a week left to make their cases before voters decide its fate through an Election Day ballot question. ... 

Today, the New Jersey Main Street Alliance released its version of the story with a web-only video featuring the testimony of several small business owners who claim that not only is raising the minimum wage the right thing to do, but it's also the financially smart decision.

"It's unconscionable...

By Matt Friedman
NJ Star Ledger, Oct 29, 2013 

A coalition campaigning for an increase in the minimum wage is pushing back against claims by business groups that it will hurt the economy with an ad that features testimonials from small business owners.

“Your employees are the things that make your shop go,” Adam Woods, the owner of Camden Printworks, says in the one minute and 20 second internet-only video produced by the liberal Main Street Alliance.

Mohammud Chowdhury, the owner of Beauty Plus in New Brunswick, chimes in “if they have more money, they...

By Bill Mooney
Politicker NJ, Oct 29, 2013

It's the battleground district race that encompasses the entire state: The referendum on increasing the minimum wage.

Small-business owners who support next Tuesday’s ballot question to hike the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.25 weighed in this morning as advocates unveiled a video on social media they say bolsters their argument that a $1 boost for the lowest-paid workers helps the economy. … 

"Consumer spending is at the heart of our economy, this cannot be stressed enough," said Holly Sklar, director of the national advocacy group Business...

McClatchy-Tribune Op-Ed by Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage

"The minimum wage has put a floor under workers’ wages since taking effect 75 years ago on October 24, 1938. But at $7.25 an hour, today’s federal minimum wage is the same as it was in 1950, after adjusting for inflation. ... When a growing share of workers make too little to buy necessities – much less afford a middle-class standard of living – it hurts Main Street businesses and our communities."

Washington Sun, October 3, 2013

Montgomery County legislators are pledging to pass a bill raising the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour during the 2014 Maryland General Assembly. On October 1, the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting raising the rate for the state’s lowest wage workers.

At a press conference in Takoma Park, Del. Anne Kaiser and Sen. Jamie Raskin, co-chairs of the Montgomery County legislative delegation detailed why they believe that it is the right time to increase the minimum wage in Maryland.  Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett...

Fox News Latino, Sept 26, 2013

Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation Wednesday that will gradually raise California's current minimum wage from $8 an hour to $10 an hour within three years, affecting nearly a million full-time Latino workers, who compose the majority of the state's workforce. The legislation signed in a ceremony in downtown Los Angeles would raise the current minimum of $8 an hour to $9 on July 1, 2014, then to $10 on Jan. 1, 2016. … The increase is the first to the state's minimum wage in six years and comes amid a...

By Christopher Weber
Associated Press, Sept. 25, 2013

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Calling it a "matter of justice," Gov. Jerry Brown put his signature on a bill that will hike California's minimum wage to $10 an hour within three years ... The legislation signed Wednesday at a ceremony in downtown Los Angeles will gradually raise the current minimum of $8 an hour to $9 on July 1, 2014, then to $10 on Jan. 1, 2016. ...

"A higher minimum wage will mean much-needed money in the pockets of millions of workers in the state, and that's...

On September 25, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a measure raising the state’s minimum wage to $10 per hour in two steps by 2016. Business for a Fair Minimum Wage applauds the increase. "A higher minimum wage will mean much needed money in the pockets of millions of workers in the state, and that’s good news for businesses throughout California that will benefit from increased consumer spending," said Gary Gerber, founder and CEO of Sun Light & Power in Berkeley, with 75 employees, and a member of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. "It’s encouraging to...

By Alan K. Ota
Roll Call, Sept. 20, 2013 

The National Federation of Independent Business and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce stand adamantly against a higher minimum wage ... But ... Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, has focused on the upside of Democratic efforts to raise the current hourly wage standard of $7.25 an hour. Potential benefits, the group argues, include better employee morale, lower turnover and more consumer spending.

The group collected signatures from more than 1,000 businesses and advocacy groups to help propel the last increase in the minimum wage in 2007. Six years...

By Lauren Loricchio
Capital News Service, Sept 18, 2013

ANNAPOLIS – ... According to a U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report, Maryland is the fifth most expensive state to live in. But Maryland falls behind other states when it comes to minimum wage, said Matthew Hanson, program coordinator for Raise Maryland, an advocacy group that champions increasing the minimum wage. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have set a higher minimum wage, while New York lawmakers recently boosted their wage above the federal minimum. ...

Low wages have forced some workers to turn to organizations like...

Op-Ed By Lew Prince
Chicago Sun Times, Aug 22, 2013

My life is a tribute to the American Dream. My business partner and I started with 300 record albums and a $20 booth at the local farmers market. That was nearly 34 years ago. Vintage Vinyl has grown into a multimillion-dollar company with 23 employees. Based in St. Louis, we stage 150 in-store concerts a year and are the largest independent music store in the Midwest.

We built our business on wages above the minimum. This has given us long-term employees devoted to our company...