By Liz Skoczylas
The Post-Journal (Jamestown) and Observer (Dunkirk), March 21, 2013
Gillibrand To Push For $10.10 Federal Minimum Wage; Says Business Will Benefit
Raising the minimum wage in New York state would actually be a positive for small business owners, according to U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
She announced this Tuesday, along with a new effort to increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 over the next three years. Additionally, she called for future increases indexed to the rate of inflation. ...
In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for minimum wage to be increased to $8.75 during his State of the State address, but agreed with lawmakers Wednesday to a $9 pay rate. ...
"It's simply unacceptable that in New York, a single parent working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, to support a family earns just $290 a week," Gillibrand said. "That's only $15,000 a year without any time off. ... We have to do better, and we need an economy that rewards hard work."
Gillibrand is one of the original co-sponsors of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which she said would boost the incomes of an estimated 1.8 million New York workers. Additionally, she said raising minimum wage would generate an estimated $3.2 billion in wage increases for New Yorkers, which she predicts would spark new consumer spending at New York businesses.
"It's clear that by not having raised the federal minimum wage in four years, federal government is holding (minimum wage earners) and our economy back," she said. "Hundreds of thousands of full-time, hard-working New York families are living in poverty that don't have to, which also limits the potential for growth in local economies in every corner of our state." ...
When it comes to concerns about how small businesses would survive a minimum wage increase, Gillibrand dismissed the idea that there would be any difficulty.
"The number one complaint that small businesses have told me is that there's not enough demand," she said. "So, if you increase the amount of money millions of low-wage workers earn, you're going to increase demand. They will see an increase in their sales, an increase of people buying what they're selling."
Jonathon Welch, co-founder of About Talking Leaves Books in Buffalo, agreed with Gillibrand. He said many small businesses are in support of raising the minimum wage.
"We understand that lower employee turnover decreases the costs of constantly training new workers," Welch said. "A higher minimum wage ensures that our customers have some cash, and can afford to spend some money with us again."
Many of the small businesses The Post-Journal has spoken to recently said they would not be affected by a minimum wage increase, as they are already paying above the current $7.25. ...
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