BFMW In the News

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. ...

Maryland Matters: Lawmakers, Advocates Promise Push for ‘Clean 15’ Bill

By Danielle E. Gaines
Maryland Matters, Jan 14, 2019

Lawmakers, advocates ― and even some small business owners ― gathered in Annapolis on Monday evening, vowing to push for a $15 minimum wage bill. ...

Alissa Barron-Menza, vice president of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, argued that a higher minimum wage could lead to less employee turnover and greater worker ― and, in return, customer ― satisfaction at small businesses.

Haverhill Gazette: Week in Review: Minimum wage hike now in effect

By Christian M. Wade
Haverhill Gazette, Jan 10, 2019

...  Wages are rising for hundreds of thousands of workers in Massachusetts in the new year, with the first of five annual increases bumping up the state's minimum wage to $12 per hour. ... This year's increase is the first of several annual hikes that will bring the state's minimum wage up to $15 per hour by 2023. ...

some business groups say hiking the minimum wage is not only the right thing to do, but that it also makes economic sense.

KSHB-TV: Minimum wage increase officially instated across Missouri

By Tom Dempsey
KSHB-TV, Kansas City’s 41 Action News, Jan 02, 2019

WATCH VIDEO

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A minimum wage increase went into effect across all of Missouri on Tuesday, months after voters in the state approved a measure with more 60 percent support. The change increases minimum wage 75 cents from $7.85 to $8.60 an hour.

At Brewery Emperial in the Crossroads, owner Julie Thompson said the new rate [the brewery raised entry pay earlier] was already helping with hiring at the location.

KATV ABC 7: Minimum wage rules go into effect, Arkansas workers get 75 cent raise in 2019

KATV ABC 7, Jan 2, 2019

LITTLE ROCK (TALK BUSINESS AND POLITICS) -- As the new year gets underway, many Arkansans will be among the millions of workers across the U.S. getting a wage hike ...

In Arkansas, voters overwhelmingly supported Issue 5 during the Nov. 6 election, approving a 75 cent per hour wage hike from last year’s $8.50 an hour for many workers across the state. Under the initiated act that was supported by the Business for a Fair Minimum Wage coalition and other progressive groups across the state, that standard will then rise to $10 in 2020 and $11 in 2021.

Talk Business & Politics: Minimum wage rules go into effect today, Arkansas workers get 75 cent raise in 2019

By Wesley Brown
Talk Business & Politics, Jan 1, 2018

As the new year gets underway, many Arkansans will be among the millions of workers across the U.S. getting a wage hike ...

In Arkansas, voters overwhelmingly supported Issue 5 during the Nov. 6 election, approving a 75 cent per hour wage hike from last year’s $8.50 an hour for many workers across the state. Under the initiated act that was supported by the Business for a Fair Minimum Wage coalition and other progressive groups across the state, that standard will then rise to $10 in 2020 and $11 in 2021.