N.Y. officials and advocates clash on $15 minimum wage

As the nationwide push for a $15 minimum wage gains momentum and expands beyond the fast food industry, New York is poised to take the lead as the first state to adopt the wage floor for all workers.

But before the Fight for $15 movement can declare an unconditional victory in New York, a $15 minimum wage will first have to be approved in Albany, where Republicans holding a majority in the state Senate have raised serious concerns about the proposal.

In a preview of that battle, City & State on Wednesday hosted a panel of state lawmakers, policy experts and representatives of business and labor groups in a debate over the potential impact of a $15 minimum wage in New York.

Driving the issue is Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who in recent months has unilaterally imposed a $15 minimum for fast food and state workers and called for the same wage level for all workers. In a sign of his commitment to the wage hike, the governor has invoked the name of his late father, dubbing the effort the Mario Cuomo Campaign for Economic Justice.

In keynote remarks at City & State’s event, Alphonso David, the counsel to the governor, noted that employees in New York earning the current state minimum wage, which is set to rise from $8.75 to $9 at the end of the year, take home an annual income of around $18,000. David then cited yearly cost estimates of $11,000 for housing for a family “of modest means,” $9,000 for food and $6,000 for clothing and other expenses.

“That doesn’t add up,” David said. “It goes well beyond $18,000 a year. Furthermore, the minimum wage has been outpaced by raising inflation and the higher cost of living since the 1970s, effectively eroding the purchasing power of millions of workers and families. So there should be no denying the fact that the current minimum wage is unlivable.”

David said that many older workers – and not just teenagers – would directly benefit from the governor’s proposed wage hike. Nearly half of New York residents who live outside of New York City and earn less than $15 an hour are at least 35 years old, he said, and a substantial majority are at least 25 years old. Of this upstate group of workers that make less than $15 an hour, about half are parents or married, he added, and many are the sole providers for their families.

“So from an individual and a demographic perspective, it’s clear we have to raise the minimum wage,” David said. “On top of condemning millions of people to live in poverty and hardship, an insufficient minimum wage also forces them to rely on public assistance to make ends meet, which creates a problem for government, and it creates a problem for all of us in this room.”

The Cuomo administration’s across-the-board wage proposal, announced in September, would be phased in over several years, hitting $15 at the end of 2018 in New York City and the same level in mid-2021 for the rest of the state. The phase-in would follow the same timeline as the pay increase for fast food workers across the state.

The governor is planning to introduce minimum wage legislation in the 2016 legislative session, which begins next month.

The Democratic-led Assembly, which regularly introduces legislation to raise the state’s minimum wage, has rallied behind Cuomo. Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, a Long Island Democrat, said her conference expects to pass the measure in 2016.

“It’s simple,” Solages said. “Why do we need a $15 minimum wage? Because no one who works full-time should live in poverty. It’s that simple.”

But critics say the tradeoffs that come with such a large wage hike would create too many burdens for many employers, especially in upstate New York and for small businesses and nonprofit social services providers. The potential jump from $9 to $15 is an unprecedented hike, they say, which increases the risk of substantial job losses as employers try to adapt to the growing costs.

Carlo Scissura, the president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, said that while he personally supports the governor’s proposal, his members are evenly split. Scissura said those that were worried about the hike want to pay their employees more, but that they already face rising costs on multiple fronts.

“So if it was just an increase in the minimum wage, great,” Scissura said. “Well, OK so, if it was just the paid sick leave, great. Well, now it’s this, and now it’s that. I think when you add up all of these mandates, business owners are now saying hold on a minute. Now we’re not sure any more.”

State Sen. Jack Martins, the Republican chairman of the state Senate Labor Committee, would not rule out a smaller increase to the state’s minimum wage, but echoed concerns about the impact on small businesses and other employers.

“Workforce development to me is incredibly important,” Martins said. “It’s something that’s missing in this dialogue. We keep talking about increasing the minimum wage and giving people the opportunity to not only earn more and be able to support their families, and for me it is critically important that we do so in a way that allows people to develop the skill sets necessary to fill those jobs that are available across New York state.”

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.