By Alexandra Rivera
Lohud/ Rockland/Westchester Journal News, Dec 11, 2023. Also in Yahoo News, AOL.com
New York's minimum wage will increase to $16 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County in January ... Many business owners across the Hudson Valley are in support of the minimum wage increases, including Jessica Galen, owner of Bloomy Cheese and Provisions in Dobbs Ferry.
She ... is a part of the New York Business for a Fair Minimum Wage Coalition, which is comprised of more than 300 businesses across the state. The group has advocated for an minimum wage increase to $21.25 for New York City and its suburbs by 2026 — more than $4 over what New York is planning.
Galen said she has been paying her workers more than minimum wage since the start of her business.
"I see a fair minimum wage as part and parcel of how we need to do things differently coming out of the pandemic," she said. "... we should be supporting everyone with a living wage."
Galen says she sees the minimum wage increase as an investment in her team, not a harm.
"Extrapolating what it would look like if there were 100 tiny Bloomys all over the world, I know that paying someone [more] compared to the effort, labor and cost of bringing in a new person, it's no contest to me. I would rather keep someone for longer," she said. ...