BFMW In the News

Capitol Fax: Minimum wage react

Rich Miller, Capitol Fax, Feb 19, 2019

* Gov. JB Pritzker signed the $15 an hour minimum wage bill into law today. The react I’ve received so far is all from supporters. ...

* Business for a Fair Minimum Wage…

Illinois business owners say the new $15 minimum wage, signed into law today by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, will be good for business.

Ocean City Today: (Md) House battle for ‘Fight for Fifteen’

By Greg Ellison
Ocean City Today (MD), Feb 14, 2019

This years’ edition of Maryland’s “Fight for Fifteen” Minimum Wage Bill ... generated roughly eight hours of testimony from more than 160 witnesses during its first House Committee hearing last Friday in Annapolis. Del. Diana Fennell (D-47, Prince George’s) and Sen. Cory McCray (D-45, Baltimore) revived the wage issue during 2019 by sponsoring cross-filed HB 166 and SB 280, which seek to raise the minimum wage to $11 per hour later this year, and then add $1 each year until reaching $15 in 2023. ...

Baltimore Sun: What's in a wage? From pizza shop owners to house cleaners, voices on raising Maryland's hourly minimum to $15

By Pamela Wood and Lorraine Mirabella
The Baltimore Sun, Feb 11, 2019

Thousands of Maryland workers and business owners stand to be affected if state lawmakers raise the minimum wage from $10.10 per hour to $15. ... The proposal before lawmakers would raise the minimum wage to $11 per hour this summer, with a dollar increase each year after until it reaches $15. ...

Here’s a look at how some workers and business owners are viewing the issue.

Aaron Seyedian: Cleaning with a mission

Maryland Reporter: State Roundup

Maryland Reporter, State Roundup, February 11, 2019

WAGE HIKE DEBATED: Maryland lawmakers heard hours of conflicting testimony Friday on whether to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. ...

State Journal Register: Local employers, workers weigh effect of minimum wage increase

By Brenden Moore
State Journal-Register, Feb 10, 2019 

After years of working various jobs in retail and food service, Springfield resident Laquesha Russell last year found her calling as a home health aide for Help at Home. ... Russell, along with 1.4 million low-wage workers in Illinois — or about 23 percent of the state’s workforce — could be in line for a raise in the coming years as state lawmakers debate raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. ...

Baltimore Business Journal: Minimum wage debate takes center stage in Annapolis

By Holden Wilen
Baltimore Business Journal, Feb 8, 2019

... The marquee proposal of this year's legislative session in Annapolis took center stage Friday as 174 advocates, business owners, trade associations and other groups testified for and against a bill to raise Maryland's minimum wage. The Economic Matters Committee's hearing room reached capacity and many others filled the hallway outside to pitch lawmakers on whether or the minimum wage should be raised.

WTOP: Fight for $15: Md. lawmakers hear from both sides on boosting minimum wage

By Kate Ryan
WTOP FM, February 8, 2019

WASHINGTON — Efforts to get a $15 an hour minimum wage in Maryland by 2024 went into high gear Friday as members of a House panel heard from dozens of people on both sides of the issue. ...

The committee also heard from business owners who support the bill. Alissa Barron-Menza, vice president at Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said her group represents businesses that support the “Fight for Fifteen.”

SHRM HR News: Is a Federal Minimum-Wage Hike Good for Business, or Does It Cost Too Much?

By Roy Maurer
SHRM HR News, February 5, 2019

Congressional Democrats' recently announced plan to raise the federal minimum wage has reset the stage for an enduring argument: Do minimum-wage increases lead to more prosperity or fewer jobs for low-wage earners? Democrats in the House and Senate introduced legislation Jan. 16 that would gradually increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour over the next five years. ...

Advocates: Higher Wages Can Be Good for Business

Parsippany Focus: Governor Murphy Signs Landmark Legislation Raising Minimum Wage to $15 Per Hour

New Law Will Boost Wages for Over One Million New Jersey Workers

By Frank L. Cahill
Parsippany Focus, Feb 4, 2019

TRENTON — Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation that will raise New Jersey’s minimum wage to $15.00 per hour by 2024. ...

Parsippany-Troy Hills Mayor Michael Soriano said “More money in employees pockets means more money is being spent in Parsippany restaurants and retails stores. It’s going to boost our local economy, and it’s going to help New Jersey continue to develop a thriving small business culture.” ...

“New Jersey is taking a big step forward in raising the minimum wage for most workers to $15.00 by 2024. It would be better, however, if that timetable applied to all businesses instead of putting some on a slower path,” said Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. “A lagging minimum wage will hurt small businesses, not help them....

Law360: Dems' $15 Minimum Wage Push Tees Up Pitched Battle

By Braden Campbell
Law360, Jan 15, 2019

Congressional Democrats are planning to introduce legislation Wednesday that would gradually lift the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2024, setting the stage for what could be a protracted battle over where the national wage floor should be. ...

Although groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business have previously opposed a $15 minimum wage, others in the business community are in favor. Alissa Barron-Menza, vice president at Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a business coalition that backs the plan, argued it would benefit small-business owners by boosting their local economies. ...