News Details - Legislature Supports Increase in State Minimum Wage

Following a thoughtful discussion, the Legislature, by a vote of 10-5, supported an increase in the New York State Minimum Wage—at a minimum from the current $7.25 an hour to $8.50 an hour, and to index it annually to the Consumer Price Index, as proposed in a bill before the New York State Legislature, sponsored by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. The Legislature, however, went beyond what is included in that proposed legislation—also strongly urging the State to increase the minimum wage to $10.39 per hour no later than April 1, 2013, the beginning of the State’s next fiscal year. The $10.39 rate represents a calculation of what the minimum wage would be, had the Minimum Wage kept pace with inflation over the past 40 years. (Legislators Dave McKenna, Frank Proto, Pat Pryor, Brian Robison, and budget chair Jim Dennis voted no.)

There was considerable discussion of the issue of a livable wage—with several Legislators, including Leslyn McBean-Clairborne (Chair of the Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Committee) and Kathy Luz Herrera, who had brought forth an alternate member-filed resolution that advocated that the State to move toward establishing a Livable Wage as the Minimum Wage. The Legislature failed to amend the resolution twice with provisions focused on the Livable Wage before passing the final version.

Legislators Pryor, Mike Lane, and Dooley Kiefer, and Chair Dennis were among those who expressed the view that the Livable Wage issue could best be approached through a separate action that would ask the State to address the issue statewide.

05-01-2012