Washington Sun, October 3, 2013
Montgomery County legislators are pledging to pass a bill raising the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour during the 2014 Maryland General Assembly. On October 1, the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting raising the rate for the state’s lowest wage workers.
At a press conference in Takoma Park, Del. Anne Kaiser and Sen. Jamie Raskin, co-chairs of the Montgomery County legislative delegation detailed why they believe that it is the right time to increase the minimum wage in Maryland. Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and Montgomery County Council members Valerie Ervin and Marc Elrich also spoke at the event. ... “With passage of this resolution, Montgomery County stands united in support of higher pay for our workers and building our county and state economy,” said County Executive Leggett. “An increase will also stimulate business and spending and we always welcome more business here in Montgomery County.”
The press conference was held at Capital City Cheesecake, a café and bakery in Takoma Park. Meaghan Murphy, who owns the business with her sister, spoke in support of a wage increase. “Even though it’s a challenge to meet this higher wage, at the end of the day we’re not in business for solely our own benefit,” said Murphy. “We shouldn’t be in business if we can’t provide another dollar or more per hour to our workers.” ...
Research has found that approximately 472,000 Marylanders would benefit from the increase, putting $466 million more in their pockets in the next two years. At the same time, businesses would benefit from nearly half a billion dollars in new consumer spending ...
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