By Alex Jackson
Capital Gazette, March 7, 2013
For Natalie Uribe, a 16-year-old Glen Burnie resident, a little hike to the minimum wage could do a lot.
Uribe was one of many workers who came to Annapolis as the minimum wage war raged on Thursday. After a similar House hearing in February, the Senate Finance Committee heard testimony on legislation that would gradually boost the the state's minimum wage to $10 by 2015. ...
But for Uribe, who works for the minimum wage, the bill would help her family pay their taxes and other important expenses, she said.
"Sometimes we have to sit and discuss who's medicine we will buy this week and who's we won't," Uribe said, urging the panel to give Senate Bill 683 a favorable report. ...
Craig Sewell, owner of A Cook's Cafe on Commerce Road in Annapolis, submitted written testimony in favor of Senate Bill 683, introduced by Rob Garagiola, D-Montgomery.. Unlike many business owners who testified against the bill, Sewell said raising the wage was a "vital step" for the well-being of workers and the economy.
"The investment I make in my employees," wrote Sewell, who said he pays his workers a base rate of $13 an hour. "Pays dividends many times over in customer satisfaction and increased workmanship."
According to Rise Maryland, a group advocating for raising the minimum wage, Costco is among 70 businesses and groups that support the legislation that's been proposed in Maryland. Costco pays a starting hourly wage of $11.50 in all states, no matter the minimum wage. ...
House Bill 1204, introduced by Del. Alisha Braveboy, D-Prince George's, has 54 sponsors and is awaiting a vote by the House Economic Matters Committee. 71 votes are needed to pass a bill in the House.
Senate Bill 683 has 25 sponsors in the Senate, where just 24 votes are needed to pass a bill. But it lacks official support of the majority of the Senate Finance Committee, where it will need to pass first. A vote isn't expected until at least next week.
Copyright 2013 Capital Gazette