By Kate Rogers
CNBC, July 21, 2015
A New York state board is scheduled to weigh in on fast-food wages on Wednesday. Citing a person familiar with the plans, The Wall Street Journal said the Wage Board is expected to recommend lifting the state's fast-food minimum wage to $15 an hour.
The state's hourly minimum is $8.75, and will reach $9 by the end of the year. The board—created at the urging of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo—has the power to raise wages for state fast-food workers without legislative approval. ... Within the fast-food industry, McDonald's in April announced it would be raising wages for U.S. store-owned locations to higher than $10 an hour by the end of 2016. Other big corporations that have moved independently to lift wages within the past year include Target, Wal-Mart, Gap and TJX Companies.
A raise for New York fast-food workers is "very important and will galvanize the movement to raise wages significantly around the country," said Holly Sklar, chief executive at wage advocacy group Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. ...
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