By Ian P. Murphy
Retail Dive, May 13, 2015

Controversy over raising the minimum wage has been brewing anew for a couple of years. ... Multiple polls say that 70% to 80% of Americans support an increase to the minimum wage. And three out of five (61%) small-business owners with employees support the proposed Fair Minimum Wage Act, which would raise the national minimum from $7.25 to $10.10 in three phases, says a survey from the American Sustainable Business Council and Business for a Fair Minimum Wage.

The pressure—particularly the “Fight for $15” push for...

By Paul Smith
WPMT Fox43 Central Pennsylvania, May 5, 2015

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HARRISBURG, Pa. – Low-wage workers and some business owners urged state lawmakers Monday to increase the state’s minimum wage. ...

“Let’s not forget that workers are also customers,” Simon Arias, owner of Simon Arias Insurance Agencies, said. “More money in the pockets of over 1 million workers will translate into more sales at businesses across the state, which includes mine.”

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Copyright 2015 WPMT

By Jonathan Maze
Nation's Restaurant News, May 1, 2015

A year ago, Pi Pizzeria raised the lowest wage for workers to $10.10 an hour, giving some 275 employees at eight locations increases in pay — without raising menu prices.

“We looked at what goes into turnover and productivity, and how much it costs to train and hire a line cook,” said Chris Sommers, CEO of St. Louis-based Pi parent Euclid Hospitality Group. “We realized that with lower turnover, it’s easy to pay for this. We have loyalty. And good people are not jumping ship to...

Andy Szal
Manufacturing.net, May 1, 2015

... Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia on Thursday introduced the Raise the Wage Act, which would bump the wage from the current $7.25 per hour to $12 per hour by 2020. ...

"If Senator Murray wants to know why a $12 minimum wage is bad policy, she should look in her own backyard," wrote Michael Saltsman of the Employment Policies Institute, a D.C.-based nonprofit with ties to the restaurant industry.

A group called Business for a Fair Minimum Wage countered that enacting the...

Business NH Magazine, May 1, 2015

Some business owners applauded the planned introduction of new legislation to raise the federal minimum wage, which has been at $7.25 per hour since 2009 – just $15,080 a year for full-time work. Business for a Fair Minimum Wage is launching a new sign-on statement for business owners and executives supporting a gradual increase to $12 by 2020 to benefit business and the economy.
 
Senator Patty Murray (WA) and Representative Robert C. Scott (VA) are introducing legislation to increase the federal minimum wage in five steps to $12...

Commentary By Jared Bernstein
Washington Post, April 30, 2015

I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that there’s a new proposal coming out today to raise the federal minimum wage to $12.00 by 2020 ... The bad news is that the opponents of the increase, with little regard for the evidence, will soon be trotting out the same tired arguments about how the policy kills jobs and hurts the people it’s intended to help. ...

But there are many other ways that these wage increases get absorbed, such as through prices...

By Nick Quaife
WAFF, Washington, DC, April 30, 2015, Syndicated to many stations around US

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How does 12 dollars minimum wage sound?

Lawmakers meet in Washington Thursday to introduce a new bill that will get it there by 2020. Business owners who support the increase said it's good for business and the economy.

Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Robert Scott will hold a press conference Thursday at the U-S Capitol. ...

Members of a group called "Business for a Fair Minimum Wage" will also speak and talk about reasons to increase minimum wage...

By Secretary of Labor Tom Perez
US Department of Labor Blog, April 30, 2015

Secretary Perez took part in a Minimum Wage press conference on Capitol Hill where he was joined by Gina Schaefer, Owner, Ace Hardware stores, and Rupa, a licensed beautician who earns the minimum wage.

It’s been almost 8 years since Congress last raised the national minimum wage. This step is overdue. ...

In nearly two years as Labor Secretary, I’ve sat down with so many low-wage workers for whom every day involves struggle and sacrifice. For them, just a few more...

Domanique Crawford, Opinion Editor
The Oak Leaf, Santa Rose Junior College, April 27, 2015

... As a nation still recovering from the great recession, the fiscal need to raise the minimum wage is evident. Congress last raised the Federal minimum wage in 2009. Since then, the living wage- the wage needed to support the standard of living- has increased and the gap in income inequality continues to grow. To bridge this gap and boost our economy, raising the federal minimum wage is key. ...

Owning a small-business means constant vigilance of economic growth. The American...

By Scott Lynch
Direct Capital Blog, April 22, 2015

It’s 2015 and small businesses nationwide are hoping it will usher in growth and prosperity. ... In the graphic below, Direct Capital has illustrated a number of factors that could change the landscape of American small business dramatically. ...

MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES

Negative: Republicans have strongly opposed Obama’s call for a minimum wage increase from $7.25/hr. to $10.10/hr., which would further squeeze the budgets of small business owners who are already struggling to make payroll. However, voters in five (usually conservative) states cast ballots in favor of the...

Business & Employment (BEN) News Network, April 20, 2015

A debate is raging in Pennsylvania to raise the minimum wage. The legislation would put the commonwealth on par with 29 other U.S. states which have already passed such laws. ...

Early this month, State Representative Patty Kim chaired a public hearing in Harrisburg on her proposed bill, which would increase the minimum from the current $7.25 per hour to $9.00 per hour after 60 days and then to $10.10 per hour a year later, according to information on her website. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has...

Associated Press, April 16, 2015

AUGUSTA, Maine - A Maine group is launching a bid to put a proposal to raise the minimum wage on the ballot next year. Mainers for Fair Wages ... wants to raise the wage from $7.50 an hour to $9 an hour in 2017. It would then go up a dollar a year until it hits $12 in 2020; from then on, adjustments would be made based on the cost of living.

Jim Wellehan, who owns Lamey-Wellehan Shoes and supports the effort, said Thursday that he believes raising the wage...

WCSH6 Portland (ME), April 9, 2015

BANGOR, Maine (NEWS CENTER) – On Thursday, there was a town hall style meeting at Abraham Lincoln School in Bangor, to discuss the merits of raising the minimum wage in Bangor. ... The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour and the state's minimum is $7.50 per hour. ...

The majority of attendees support the increase in minimum wage including Jim Wellehan from Lamey-Wellehan Shoes.

"If we raise the minimum wage properly, people will have more pride in their life and their work, and more ability to provide...

Embracing a living wage is good for business, and good for all

Op-Ed By Jeff Furman, Chair of the Ben & Jerry's Board of Directors

Fortune, April 9, 2015

... It’s a moral disgrace that so many hard-working Americans have to scrape to get by on a minimum wage that is 25% below what it was in 1968. It’s also bad for business.

I chair the board of a company —Ben & Jerry’s—that has had a livable wage policy for about 20 years. Exact wage levels are determined by local costs of living. In Vermont...

By Karen Ridder
Newsmax, April 8, 2015

According to the U.S. Department of Labor some small business owners think an increase in the federal minimum wage would potentially benefit their bottom line. These business owners see the wage increase as a way to lift consumer purchasing power and help the economy.

Here are five quotes form small business owners, some who support and some who are leery of increasing minimum wage requirements:

"It's absurd that the minimum wage is still just $7.25, while people have rising expenses from rent and transportation to tuition and student...