BFMW In the News

By Delonte Harrod
The Intersection Magazine, Feb 28, 2023

Before Gov. Wes Moore went and testified before the Maryland House of Economic Matters Committee at 1 p.m. on Feb. 27, he met with business leaders and an employee, Antonia Brown, to hear about the importance of passing the Fair Wage Act (HB549). The Fair Wage Act would help to speed up the state of reaching the $15 minimum wage point by Oct. 1, 2023. ...

By Deja Parker
WMDT (47ABC) Delmarva, Feb 27, 2023

In Maryland, the question on the table is will minimum wage go up to $15.00 an hour sooner than intended. Many business owners went to the State House to testify in support of the measure. The Fair Wage Act of 2023 would lift the minimum wage to $15.00 in October. ... One business owner, Courtney Sunborn for Ecolostic Cleaning says she supports the bill because she’s been paying more than the minimum for years now.

By Ava-Joye Burnett
CBS Baltimore, WJZ,Feb 27, 2023

Maryland is supposed to get to a $15 minimum wage by January 2025. Now, Gov. Wes Moore and several lawmakers want to expedite the process to get to that minimum wage increase sooner.

Those who support the minimum wage increase tell WJZ it is important to do this now because inflation has had an impact on how far money stretches, especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supporters also said that higher wages make them more competitive, it cuts back on turnover of new employees, and it's good business because it gets more money into the pockets of workers. If the governor has his way, the $15 minimum will come about 15 months earlier, in October of 2023.

By Brad Bell
ABC 7News, Annapolis, Feb 27, 2023

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (7News) — At the Rise Up coffee shop in Annapolis, the notion of raising Maryland’s minimum wage to $15 an hour this year instead in 2025 is a popular one among those making the lattes.

“It’s really important to support small businesses in the community and if that means putting money into the little guy I think it’ll eventually work out for everyone in the long run,” says Tyler a worker at the coffee shop. ...

[Governor Wes] Moore hosted an unusual public discussion featuring union leaders and business owners who support his plan, including the founder and CEO of popular pizza chain &Pizza, who claims higher wages boost his profits.

By Chris Montcalmo
NottinghamMD.com, Feb 27, 2023 

TOWSON, MD—Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski will testify before the Economic Matters Committee on Monday and share support for the Fair Wage Act of 2023 (HB-549).

This legislation would accelerate the state’s $15-per-hour minimum wage, fully implementing that wage for all covered employers as of October 1 instead of 2026 as currently required. In addition, the Fair Wage Act would index the minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index beginning on July 1, 2025 ...

By Adam Uzialko
Business.com, Updated Jan 23, 2023

Employees who earn enough to get by improve performance and overall business.

Paying a “living wage” requires more than just meeting state and federal minimum wage requirements. Living in certain communities is more expensive and requires people to earn more to sustain basic life necessities. ...

By David A. Fahrenthold and Talmon Joseph Smith
New York Times, Jan. 17, 2023

For many cooks, waiters and bartenders, it is an annoying entrance fee to the food-service business: Before starting a new job, they pay around $15 to a company called ServSafe for an online class in food safety.

That course is basic, with lessons like “bathe daily” and “strawberries aren’t supposed to be white and fuzzy, that’s mold.” In four of the largest states, this kind of training is required by law, and it is taken by workers nationwide.

But in taking the class, the workers — largely unbeknown to them — are also helping to fund a nationwide lobbying campaign to keep their own wages from increasing.

By Karen Craigo
Springfield Business Journal, Jan 16, 2023

In November 2018, nearly two-thirds of Missouri voters approved Proposition B, an initiative that substantially increased the state’s minimum wage. The hike raised base pay to $12 per hour from $7.85 – a 53% increase – over five years, reaching that target on Jan. 1.

Many workers have celebrated the hike, and some business owners have, too. In December, Andy Faucett, owner of Bambinos Cafe, shared his satisfaction with the increase in a statement put out by Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a national network of business owners and others who supported Prop B.

By Samantha Bernt
1011 Now, KOLN, Lincoln, Jan. 15, 2023

Nebraskans voted and now they’re seeing the impacts. In January, the state’s minimum wage went up from $9 to $10.50 with increases coming for the next three years.

On Sunday, 10/11 NOW spoke with a local business to see how the hike in wages impacts them.

Since voters approved the initiative, the state’s minimum wage will increase by $1.50 each year until 2026, where it will cap off at $15 an hour.

In Downtown Lincoln, a Novel Idea Bookstore has seen many minimum wage increases over their 31 years in business.

By Victor Williams
New York Weekly, January 5, 2023

Minimum wage: A new year has begun, and news emerged that workers would receive a higher minimum wage this year. Workers in more than half of all states have been calling for higher wages for years, as the federal minimum wage has remained the same since 2009: $7.25 per hour. ...

Holly Sklar, the CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said that raising minimum wages can also increase consumer demand.

As a result, local economies will be able to recover.

“Putting needed raises in minimum wage workers’ pockets [is] really the most efficient way you can boost the economy,” said Sklar.

“Those are the people who have to go right back around and spend it.” ...

By Mark Hamstra
Nation's Restaurant News, Jan 4, 2023. Also in Supermarket News, Restaurant Hospitality, Retail Wit.

... The Seattle-Tacoma area has the nation’s highest minimum wage at $19.06, but several other cities have minimum wages approaching that level, and three states — Washington, California and now Massachusetts — have minimum wages of $15 or higher. Washington, D.C., also has a minimum wage of $16.10, higher than any state, and it is scheduled to increase to $17 per hour on July 1.

By Ben Terzi
Avenue News, Jan 4, 2023. Also Dundalk Eagle.

As the beginning of the new year starts, some workers will notice an increase of pay with the new minimum wage rising to $13.25 per hour. ... The latest bump in minimum wage pay is part of an ongoing effort to reach $15 per hour, which will take place on Jan. 1, 2025 but some lawmakers are looking to expedite the process. ...

In a press release prior to the minimum wage increase, the Business for a Fair Minimum Wage coalition said increasing wages will put more money in workers’ wallets to pump back into local businesses in the economy.

By Doug Banks
Boston Business Journal, Jan 4, 2023

New minimum wage

The new minimum wage in Massachusetts is now $15 per hour, part of the so-called Grand Bargain law that passed in 2018. Already, some groups are saying that inflation has caused that longtime goal, once again, to fall short of being a livable wage.

Massachusetts isn’t alone in raising the minimum hourly wage this year. In fact, 23 states raised their minimum wages in the new year, and four more states have increases scheduled later this year, according to an analysis by Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, an advocacy group that supports raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2025. ..

By Ben Werschkul
Yahoo News, Jan 3, 2023

With the federal minimum wage at $7.25 an hour, unchanged for 13 years and counting, states across the country continue to take matters into their own hands. The latest to join the party is Nebraska, where voters passed an initiative in November’s elections to gradually raise the minimum wage there to $15 per hour by 2026. ...

The bumps are the fruit of years-long efforts from activists and one of the groups, called Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, argues that the increases also make business sense by boosting consumer spending and improving employee morale.

By Matthew Fazelpoor
NJBiz, January 3, 2023

The ringing in of 2023 brings an increase to the minimum wage for most Garden State employees from $13 to $14.13 per hour. The raise is part of legislation signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in 2019 that calls for the state’s minimum wage to gradually increase to $15 per hour by 2024. ...

One group supporting the increase is Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, which says hikes across the country will boost consumer spending; strengthen local economies; and improve employee hiring, retention, productivity and customer service.

In a press release, Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said that minimum wage increases are a great boost for the new year.