Some New York union representatives and activists marched on July 22, 2016, to demand an increase to $15 per hour.
Come Friday (Jan. 1), there are many states in the U.S. where wages for low-income workers are set to go up.
According to CNN, 20 states are raising their minimum hourly wage rates. Of those, 19 states will raise their minimum wage on Jan. 1, 2021. New York’s minimum wage has been raised on December 31, 2020.
Of the twenty states that are raising their minimum wage, some are raising it by just a few cents, while others are raising it by a dollar or more. This is part of a previous plan to adjust wages for the increased cost of living, or rather, toward a goal like a $15 per hour minimum wage.
In New Mexico, the minimum wage will be raised to $10.50, $1.50 higher than the current $9 wage. In California, employers with 26 or more employees will pay a wage rate that will increase from $13 to $14 per hour, the highest minimum wage in the United States. In Minnesota, the rate increase is only 8 cents, while the minimum hourly wage paid by large employers is $10.08.
The federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour has remained unchanged since 2009. By 2021, the minimum wage in 20 U.S. states will continue to be equal to or below this federal level, using $7.25 an hour as the default baseline. The federal minimum wage peaked in 1968 at $1.60, which is equivalent to $12 at the 2020 dollar rate.
While some of the new raises were enacted several years ago, they now take on greater significance as low-wage workers are hit hard by the CCHS (New Coronavirus) epidemic.
Ken Jacobs, director of the Center for Labor Research and Education at the University of California-Berkeley, said in response. “We have a lot of low-wage service sector workers who are struggling through the epidemic, many of whom have jobs that put them at greater risk of contracting the virus. For them, this measure will be a very welcome boost. In addition, many families are currently struggling through this crisis.”
Ben Zipperer, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, said workers are in greater demand during the recession because so many people are out of work, they have little bargaining power and employers are able to keep handing out low wages.
Federal government data show that workers who take the minimum wage are typically younger and work primarily in the leisure and hospitality industries. These service-oriented businesses were hit during the pandemic as public health and safety precautions led to the closure of restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues.
As the epidemic raged, insecurity over housing and food issues increased and incomes declined. It was low-wage workers who suffered the most from the economic impact.
At the same time, opponents say it will lead to hampered business interests. Some lawmakers and business organizations are calling for a moratorium on the planned minimum wage increase, citing that it would overburden already struggling small businesses.
In New York, members of the Senate Republican Conference urged Gov. Andrew Cuomo to halt the minimum wage increase, which is set to take effect Thursday (Dec. 31).
In a statement in early December, Senate Republican Rob Ortt said, “We don’t want small businesses to have to make the hard choice of laying off workers or closing their doors because that would be the last straw that crushes the financial vulnerability created by the epidemic.”
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