By Mark Hamstra
Nation's Restaurant News, Jan 4, 2023. Also in Supermarket News, Restaurant Hospitality, Retail Wit.

... The Seattle-Tacoma area has the nation’s highest minimum wage at $19.06, but several other cities have minimum wages approaching that level, and three states — Washington, California and now Massachusetts — have minimum wages of $15 or higher. Washington, D.C., also has a minimum wage of $16.10, higher than any state, and it is scheduled to increase to $17 per hour on July 1.

The state with the biggest minimum wage hike this year was Nebraska, which went...

By Doug Banks
Boston Business Journal, Jan 4, 2023

New minimum wage

The new minimum wage in Massachusetts is now $15 per hour, part of the so-called Grand Bargain law that passed in 2018. Already, some groups are saying that inflation has caused that longtime goal, once again, to fall short of being a livable wage.

Massachusetts isn’t alone in raising the minimum hourly wage this year. In fact, 23 states raised their minimum wages in the new year, and four more states have increases scheduled later this year, according to an analysis by Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, an...

By Ben Terzi
Avenue News, Jan 4, 2023. Also Dundalk Eagle.

As the beginning of the new year starts, some workers will notice an increase of pay with the new minimum wage rising to $13.25 per hour. ... The latest bump in minimum wage pay is part of an ongoing effort to reach $15 per hour, which will take place on Jan. 1, 2025 but some lawmakers are looking to expedite the process. ...

In a press release prior to the minimum wage increase, the Business for a Fair Minimum Wage coalition said increasing wages will...

By Ben Werschkul
Yahoo News, Jan 3, 2023

With the federal minimum wage at $7.25 an hour, unchanged for 13 years and counting, states across the country continue to take matters into their own hands. The latest to join the party is Nebraska, where voters passed an initiative in November’s elections to gradually raise the minimum wage there to $15 per hour by 2026. ...

The bumps are the fruit of years-long efforts from activists and one of the groups, called Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, argues that the increases also make business sense by boosting...

By Matthew Fazelpoor
NJBiz, January 3, 2023

The ringing in of 2023 brings an increase to the minimum wage for most Garden State employees from $13 to $14.13 per hour. The raise is part of legislation signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in 2019 that calls for the state’s minimum wage to gradually increase to $15 per hour by 2024. ...

One group supporting the increase is Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, which says hikes across the country will boost consumer spending; strengthen local economies; and improve employee hiring, retention, productivity and customer service.

In a press release...

By Jacob Owens
Delaware Business Times, January 3, 2023

With the start of the new year, Delaware quietly continued its march toward a $15 minimum wage with an increase of $1.25 an hour. ...

The bill spurred a contentious debate ... But others, including business owners, said the increase will help attract workers to Delaware with the promise of higher wages, therefore decreasing turnover and allowing Delaware to remain competitive with surrounding states.

Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, an advocacy group, pushed for the hike and organized some local small business owners to push...

By Natalie Wallington
Kansas City Star, Jan 3, 2023

Sunday didn’t just ring in the new year: It also marked an increase of Missouri’s minimum wage to $12 an hour, up from $11.15 last year. Kansas’ minimum wage has stayed at the federal level of $7.25 per hour. Missouri’s increase marks the final step of a multi-year plan to raise the state’s minimum wage that began when voters approved it in 2018. Moving forward, the minimum wage will increase and decrease at the same rate as inflation. ...

“As a family business, we’re glad to...

 More Perfect Union, Video, Jan 3, 2023

Featuring Senator Jessica Ramos, Amalgamated Bank Vice President Maura Keaney and workers.

WATCH

By Rebecca Heckel
KLKN-TV (Channel 8 ABC), Jan 2, 2023

LINCOLN – A new year means more money for many Nebraskans after more than 300,000 voters said yes to raising the minimum wage during this last election.

“I’m very happy that my fellow Nebraskans chose to do the right thing,” said Cinnamon Dokken, owner of “A Novel Idea” bookstore in Lincoln.

The initiative was on the November ballot. The first phase began on Jan. 1, raising the minimum wage from $9 to $10.50 an hour.

“Whenever wages have increased, revenue has increased along with it and we’ve been...

By Kent Masing
International Business Times, Jan 2, 2023

As the U.S. welcomes the new year, millions of workers in several states will see their minimum wage increase. ...

In September, a report by the Urban Institute showed that increasing the nationwide minimum wage to $15 would help 56 million workers. Kevin Werner, a research associate at the Urban Institute's Income and Benefits Policy Center, said raising the minimum wage would lead to a decline in poverty and help workers in general.

Holly Sklar, the chief executive officer of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, echoed...

By Tim Rowden
St. Louis/Southern Illinois Labor Tribune, Jan 2, 2023

More than 20 states, including Missouri and Illinois, will be raising their minimum wages to ring in the new year, according to a report from Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. Another four states and the District of Columbia have increases scheduled later in 2023.

Business owners across the country are welcoming the increases, saying they will boost consumer spending, strengthen local economies and improve employee hiring, retention, productivity and customer service. ...

Locally, Illinois is increasing its minimum wage to $13 on Jan. 1, 2023...

By Lorie Konish
CNBC, Jan 1, 2023. Also NBC4 Washington, NBC Chicago, NBC Boston, NBC Philadelphia, Telemundo, MSN and other outlets.

As the calendar turns to 2023, workers in more than half of all states have something to look forward to this year: a higher minimum wage. ...

Raising minimum wages can also help increase consumer demand and put money back into local economies, said Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a national network of business organizations, owners and executives that support higher minimum wages.

“Putting needed raises in minimum wage...

By Dana Gerber
Boston Globe, Jan 1, 2023

... On Jan. 1, the state’s minimum wage increased from $14.25 an hour to $15, one of the highest rates in the nation. It was the final step in a series of pay hikes laid out in the 2018 “grand bargain" ...

But with consumer prices up 7.1 percent from last year, the impact of this increase has been especially dampened: Today’s $15 gets you only as far as $12.70 did in June 2018, when Governor Charlie Baker signed the incremental increases into law, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics....

By Risell Ventura
Nebraska TV, Jan 1, 2023

The first day of the year brought with it the Nebraska’s minimum wage increase, the first step under Initiative 433, passed by voters in November ...

Many people support the initiative, like Dave Titterington, the owner of Wild Bird Habitat Store, in Omaha and Lincoln. ...

“When you consider the cost of childcare, when you consider groceries, and the cost of fuel, it will greatly benefit the employees because they are going to be able to help ends meet a little bit easier," Titterington said. ...

Titterington said the...

By Andy Medici
The Business Journals, The Playbook, Dec 28, 2022, Updated Dec 29, 2022. In Washington Business Journal, Boston Business Journal, St. Louis, Dayton, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Milwaukee, Dallas, Kansas City, Phoenix, Charlotte, Memphis, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento and many other business journals.

... About 23 states are raising their minimum wages to ring in the new year, while four more states have increases scheduled later in the year, according to an analysis by Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, an advocacy group that supports raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2025...