Hourly wage would be highest in nation if signed by Governor Deval Patrick
By Ron Ruggless
Nation's Restaurant News, June 18, 2014
The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would raise the state’s $8 hourly minimum wage to $11 per hour by 2017. After brief debate, the House of Representatives approved the measure 124-24, following the Senate vote that approved the hike last week 35-4. The bill goes back to both chambers for a procedural vote before heading to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s desk. ...
Holly Sklar, director of Boston-based Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said in a statement, “Massachusetts led the nation in passing the first state minimum wage a century ago in June 1912, and Massachusetts will again be leading with an $11 wage floor that is good for business, good for customers and good for our economy.”
Alden Booth, owner of The People's Pint, a restaurant and brewery in Greenfield, Mass., added: "We already pay a minimum of $11 an hour for all our employees and that is barely a living wage in Western Mass towns, let alone the Eastern urban areas, where the cost of living is higher."
Copyright 2014 Penton