Over Pataki Veto, Minimum Wage to Rise to $7.15

[HootieMcBoob]

ALBANY, Dec. 6 -Republicans in the State Senate forced through a measure on Monday that will gradually raise the minimum wage in New York State by $2 to $7.15 an hour by January 2007, overriding Gov. George E. Pataki's veto of the proposal.

The vote was a stinging rebuke to the governor from members of his own party. Mr. Pataki had argued that raising the minimum wage would put New York businesses at a competitive disadvantage. But in overriding the governor, Senate Republicans, who have been struggling to maintain a majority in their house, kept a pre-Election Day campaign promise.

The measure raises the state's current $5.15-an-hour minimum to $6 on Jan. 1, 2005; $6.75 on Jan. 1, 2006; and $7.15 on Jan. 1, 2007. It raises the hourly pay for the lowest wage earners, restaurant and bar employees who earn tips, to $4.60 from $3.30, an increase that will also be fully effective by Jan. 1, 2007. New York will join at least 14 other states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, in requiring that workers be paid more than the federal government's hourly minimum of $5.15.

"The increase will help the working families at the lowest income levels make ends meet, without putting an undue burden on small businesses and the economy," said Joseph L. Bruno, the Senate's majority leader. Returning to one of his favorite themes, Mr. Bruno said the higher wage would also help the working poor "realize the value and dignity of hard work."

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http://nytimes.com/2004/12/07/nyregion/07wage.html?hp&ex=1102482000&en=fc95d423c530b99c&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[0007]

1. $5.15 an hour? America should be ashame to let the world know

how fucking cheap they are.

Talk about not helping the economy! Raising the minimum wage by three dollars right now would help more than any stinking tax break. What's wrong with our 'shit for brain government'?????

[OhioChick]

8. I couldn't have said it better....

How the hell are people supposed to live off of $5.15 an hour????

:wtf:

[Florida_Geek]

2. Add Florida to that list

The voters added an indexed min wage Nov 2. Jebbie is not happy about that.

[Hand]

12. Sounds like win-win!

Raise the minimum for people who need it and put the pork up Jebbie as a side benefit. Works for me!

:evilgrin:

[durablend]

3. Apocalypse eminent in New York...

Freepers planning on closing up shop (permanently) to protest potential benefit to lower/middle class (now a crime courtesy of *co).

"First those damn libruls want slavery abolished, now THIS? Who the hell do they think they are?!?!?" :eyes:

[Massacure]

17. Let them, thats better business for dems.

[Corgigal]

4. Damn those blue state republicans

caring about the "little" people. Thankfully our federal Govt is owned by red state republicans who never in a million years give a flip.

[byronm]

5. Who the hell can survive on $813.00/mo GROSS

And thats if you work all month with no time off and get a full 40 hour work week and pay 0 in taxes, 0 in healthcare and 0 in federal programs.

-byron
http://www.progressiveamericans.org

[Brundle_Fly]

6. in NY

no less.

[trogdor]

7. Well, there are two New Yorks.

The one up here where it snows all the time actually has a quite manageable cost of living. Down in the City, you can't hire people for %5.15/hr. anyway. It's friggin' impossible.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

11. Um, actually, they can and do

It's not quite minimum, but my first job in NYC was working at the Strand for $6.75/hr (This was in 2002, so fairly recently). They truly treat their workers like shit there.

I had a degree from a respected university, but I had to take the job because I had been looking for work for over a year. Ahhh. The Bush economy.

They fired me for no apparent reason the day before I was to join the union. That's apparently fairly normal there.

[Just Me]

9. Yes. Minimum wage IS a poverty wage.

People have been forced to work full-time for poverty wages for quite some time.

[David__77]

10. Bruno knows that that senate GOP majority could evaporate overnight.

I was wondering: why in hell do the Republicans control the New York state senate, and have for decades. It makes little sense. But upon looking at the matter, it's clear that the Democrats have made a deal with the state GOP not to aggressively challenge control of that chamber. That's too bad. But at least some progressive legislation does make it through the senate, when it's important enough to the Democrats. Here in CA, everything is strictly party line.

[GOPBasher]

13. I'm not sure whether I'm happy about this or not.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely think the minimum wage should be increased to $7.15/hr or perhaps even more, but the problem is, this is only one state. If only some states do it, and other states don't, won't that just encourage small business owners to go to other states? I wish it was a *national* increase; that's what we need. Then, if it's the same in every state, you don't run the risk of pushing small business service jobs into other states.

[jmowreader]

15. I don't think it will

The companies that moved south when the North got expensive to do business in were largely manufacturing concerns.

If you're "New York's Largest Vinyl Window Distributor," and you're based in Onondaga County, you would have a hell of a time economically servicing your customers if you moved across the state line--Syracuse is not close to any other state.

Besides, you can sell this as a tax cut--salaries and wages are deductible as an ordinary and necessary business expense.

[robbo2356]

14. minimum wage

In the U.K the minimum wage is £4:85 which at the current Dollar / Sterling exchange rate is $9.45c and persons with families on the minimum wage receive state aid.

[LifeDuringWartime]

16. that's nice

how much money does one have to make to be elligible for state/federal aid here, and at what point is it cut off?

[AlCzervik]

18. Pataki has quite a nerve, i just saw one his "Grow your business in NYC"

i guess i should have read the disclaimer that said---"I vetoed that bill so you could have cheap labor"

[redwitch]

19. Time for some Iris Dement...

" We got CEO's makin' 200 times the worker's pay
Who'll fight like hell against raisin' the minimum wage
If you don't like it mister
They'll ship your job to some third world country
'cross the sea
and it feels like I'm livin' in the wasteland of the free".



And even in the upstate NY economy (where admittedly rent is considerably cheaper than NYC) it is impossible to make it on $5.15 an hour. Heating costs are through the roof, grocery bills are rising at an alarming rate and sales tax ain't cheap anywhere. I can't imagine trying to make it with a family on that kind of money.
I have spent the last couple of days at my town's food pantry stocking the shelves. Thank God the people here are so generous, it is going to be a tough winter for a lot of folks. Pataki is a fool.