BFMW In the News

By Robbie Sequeira
Bronx Times, April 29, 2022

In 2016, New York state took a major step in boosting its labor industry by incrementally upping its minimum wage to $15 for New York City’s entire workforce by Dec. 31, 2019. But for many NYC-based workers, a minimum wage total that has remained static throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has not met the rising costs of living in the city and the weight of global inflation on their paychecks.

Harlem World Magazine, April 28, 2022

Today, a coalition of workers, community groups, labor unions, and business leaders launched a new campaign to increase the minimum wage across New York State and ensure it never falls behind again. The debut of the new coalition, Raise Up NY, follows the introduction of amended legislation from Sen. Jessica Ramos and Assemblywoman Latoya Joyner, chairs of their respective chambers’ Labor Committees. ...

The Rick Smith Show, March 15, 2022

Interview with John Schall, owner, El Jefe's Taqueria

Listen here

By Christopher Marquis
Forbes, Feb 14, 2022

By Melissa Angell
Inc., February 10, 2022

Some businesses aren't just hungry for more federal aid -- they're famished. 

Everyone hoped that 2022 would welcome a sanguine post-pandemic future -- one that teased the promise of a closer return to "normal." But the Omicron variant, supply chain disruptions, and a spiraling inflation rate ... have made that vision seem quaint. Meanwhile, the federal programs that doled out Covid aid during the pandemic are mostly depleted. 

By Rachel Ravina
The Times Herald, Jan 28, 2022. Also in The Reporter, Mainline Times&Suburban

Gov. Tom Wolf visited Montgomery County on Thursday to discuss a topic he’s talked about time and time again: the state’s minimum wage. ... Along with Wolf, several Democratic Pennsylvania lawmakers were present Thursday afternoon at the Willow Grove-based eatery in voicing support to raise the minimum wage. ...

By Damon C. Williams
Bucks County Courier Times, Jan 27, 2022. Also in Yahoo News, The Intelligencer

Gov. Tom Wolf and Democratic leadership want workers in Pennsylvania to have a bigger slice of the pie. That was Wolf's message, when he, House Democratic Leader Joanna McClinton and State Sen. Art Haywood stopped at &Pizza in Willow Grove Park mall on Thursday to once again press the state legislature to raise the minimum wage. ... Wolf said nearly 25 percent of workers in Pennsylvania, or 1.5 million Pennsylvanians, would get a boost in pay at $15 per hour. ...

By John Campisi
Patch, Jan 27, 2022

Gov. Tom Wolf made a stop in Montgomery County Thursday to call for a raise in the state's minimum wage, saying that it is disheartening that Pennsylvania hasn't raised its minimum wage in 15 years. Wolf was joined by state and local officials during his stop at [&pizza] ...

Also speaking at the event was Kelly Maguire, the store manager at the & Pizza Willow Grove location.

By Katie Johnston
Boston Globe, Jan 8, 2022

As Omicron whips through the workforce, caregiving agencies are turning away new patients. Restaurants are shutting down. Construction jobs are being delayed. Retailers, including Macy’s, are limiting hours. ... In Massachusetts, 12,213 public school staff members — nearly 9 percent — tested positive over the two-week period ending Wednesday. ...

NPR Morning Edition, Jan 7, 2022

Dozens of states are raising the minimum wage. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Gina Schafer, owner of A Few Cool Hardware Stores, with 13 Ace Hardware stores in DC, Maryland and Virginia.

LISTEN

By Camille Squires
Quartz, Jan 4, 2022

Minimum-wage workers across the US are getting a pay bump in 2022. Higher minimum wage laws took effect across 21 states and 35 cities in the US on Jan. 1. It’s the largest simultaneous increase of sub-national minimum wage policy in US history, according to the National Employment Law Project. ...

By Melissa Angell
Inc, Jan 3, 2022

A coalition of business owners is sweet on the minimum wage increases that kicked off the new year, since they believe the wage hikes can boost economic recovery. 

By Jim Gaines
Dayton Daily News, Jan 3, 2022. Also Yahoo News, Springfield News Sun, more.

Ohio’s minimum wage jumped 50 cents on Jan. 1, rising to $9.30 an hour. That’s higher than all but one adjacent state. ... Ohio voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2006 to annually increase the minimum wage in line with inflation. ...

By Ben Paviour
VPM/NPR, Jan 3, 2022

Business groups say they’re looking forward to what some say will be a warmer reception in Richmond after Republican gains in the November election. Lobbyists for some groups are looking to advance an agenda of tax cuts as well as rolling back some policies championed by Democrats in recent years, including statewide COVID safety regulations and further minimum wage increases. ...

By Jose Espinoza
El Sol Latino, Dec 31, 2021

En New Jersey el comienzo del nuevo año estuvo acompañado con un aumento del salario mínimo que intenta paliar el impacto de la actual tendencia inflacionaria. El incremento de 13 dólares la hora entrará en vigencia el sábado 1 de enero y forma parte de un plan de cinco años firmado por el gobernador Phil Murphy hace dos años para llevar el salario mínimo a 15 dólares en 2024. ...