By:Angela Marshall
Eva Bonime, one of the event organizers, said that if the bill were put to a vote, there would be enough support for it to pass. The Assembly has already adopted a sister bill that would raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.10 an hour in 2006 in three increments. This is the fifth year in a row that a bill to raise the minimum wage has been put before the Legislature.
New York-s current minimum wage is tied to the federal minimum. Twelve states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages higher than the federal government.
While proponents of the bill say $206 a week isn-t enough to pay for basic necessities like rent, food and health care, opponents say the hike would hurt small businesses and weaken New York-s economy. Both sides are targeting legislators with letter-writing campaigns.
Skelos was in Albany during the rally, but said through a spokesman that he does support an increase in the minimum wage. However, he believes it would be better if the change came by way of a federal initiative. Tom Dunham, the senator-s spokesman, said that New York has a reputation for being difficult to do business with, and Skelos believes that raising the minimum wage on its own will only exacerbate that image. If the federal government raises the minimum, all states will have the same level of competitiveness, he said.
There are several bills dealing with the minimum wage currently being studied by Congress.
Dunham did say that if it appears that the federal government is not going to act, the senator would step forward to move the bill to the floor. Dunham would not say how long the senator would give the government before he would act, but he explained that the Senate has moved forward with other bills when the federal government has failed to act expeditiously.
Shopkeepers and residents walking along Front Street last Thursday stopped to watch the rally. Many were in favor of an increase. Teri Waxman was shocked to learn that the current minimum wage is $5.15. You-re kidding me, she said. She remembers making $2.60 an hour 25 years ago, and believed that the wage must have more than doubled in that time. Five dollars and fifteen cents is too low, she said. I was unaware of how low it was.
Colan Duffy agreed, questioning, How can people do anything for $5.15 an hour?
One man who walked away without giving his name did not empathize with the protesters. He said that with all that-s going on in the world today, he could think of better things to protest. It-s not as if making minimum wage is an economic state people are locked into forever, he added.
Several rally participants talked about their jobs and pay. Esmerelda Leon said through an interpreter that she had worked as a cleaner in a large institution for seven years, never making more than $6.36 an hour.
You know we can-t support our families on $5.15 an hour, said Cheryl Bonaparte of Baldwin. She said it-s time for Skelos to do what he can for workers before they do what they have to do. November is right around the corner, she said, referring to the upcoming election.
A full-time minimum wage earner makes about $10,712 per year. If $7.10 were to be adopted as the new minimum wage, workers would make $14,768, still less than the federal government poverty threshold of $14,824 for a family of one adult and two children.
Groups opposed to the bill, such as the Business Council of New York State, say it would mean significantly more than the $1.95 increase per hour. The increase would also mean additional Social Security and Medicare taxes, as well as workers- compensation costs.
If businesses couldn-t handle the increase, the Business Council of New York says, it might also mean fewer jobs. The other response to increased costs generated by mandated minimum wage increases is to reduce the number of current and future minimum wage jobs that the business supports, the council wrote in a memorandum of opposition this year. This, in turn, reduces the current and future number of entry level and training opportunities for those with the least skill and experience, whom the proponents of a higher minimum wage purport to help.
