By Andrew George
NJBiz, Oct 29, 2013
Both supporters and opponents of a constitutional amendment to raise the state's minimum wage by $1 to $8.25 have just a week left to make their cases before voters decide its fate through an Election Day ballot question. ...
Today, the New Jersey Main Street Alliance released its version of the story with a web-only video featuring the testimony of several small business owners who claim that not only is raising the minimum wage the right thing to do, but it's also the financially smart decision.
"It's unconscionable to me that you can ask someone to show up to work for $7.25 an hour," Kelly Conklin, owner of Kenilworth-based woodworking company Foley-Waite Associates said this morning in a conference call. Conklin, who is featured in the video, said he's long been a supporter of higher minimum wages and the idea that there's so much discussion over whether to raise it to $8.25 an hour is "kind of embarrassing." ...
Advocates of raising the wage say that by putting more money into workers' pockets, business owners will in turn see more money spent in their shops.
"Consumer spending is at the heart of our economy," said Holly Sklar, director of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said this morning. "Workers and consumers are not two different species." ...
The video has been posted to the alliance's YouTube page.
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