By Robbie Sequeira
Bronx Times, April 29, 2022
In 2016, New York state took a major step in boosting its labor industry by incrementally upping its minimum wage to $15 for New York City’s entire workforce by Dec. 31, 2019. But for many NYC-based workers, a minimum wage total that has remained static throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has not met the rising costs of living in the city and the weight of global inflation on their paychecks.
New legislation proposed by Bronx Assemblymember Latoya Joyner and Queens Sen. Jessica Ramos — both Democrats — is calling for a gradual minimum wage increase where the city’s current minimum wage of $15 would increase to $17 on Jan. 1, 2023, with future increases to reach $20.45 in 2025. For Long Island and Westchester, the minimum wage would increase from $15 to $16 on Jan. 1, 2023, with future increases to reach $17.95 in 2025. Upstate New York’s minimum wage would increase from $13.20 to $14.20 on Jan. 1, 2023, with future increases to reach $15.75 in 2025, followed by annual indexing. ...
“Increasing the minimum wage is an essential economic tool to build a thriving and resilient economy because fair wages address the economic inequality faced by many working people,” said Maura Keaney, first vice president of Commercial Banking for Amalgamated Bank. This is especially the case in the financial services industry which often pays low wages despite the popular assumption that it is a universally high-paid industry. This legislation will help New Yorkers become more financially secure and help New York bounce back stronger and more resilient in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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