WYPR/ NPR News Station, Baltimore, March 7, 2014

Gov. Martin O’Malley met with small business owners yesterday at Linemark, a printing company in Upper Marlboro. He was there to tout his plan to raise the state’s minimum wage and talk with business owners from around the state. Linemark and the rest of the companies represented at the event pay their workers above the state’s minimum wage.

WYPR’s Christopher Connelly sat down with the governor afterward to talk about the minimum wage, which the House of Delegates will give its final vote on the measure later today...

By Megan Brockett
Capital News Service, Maryland, March 6, 2014

UPPER MARLBORO — A day after House Republicans unsuccessfully pushed to amend Gov. Martin O’Malley’s minimum wage bill to provide greater protections for businesses, O’Malley touted the plan Thursday before a group of business owners who support an increase of the state’s minimum wage. ...

Sitting around a conference table at Linemark printers, O’Malley and about a dozen business people from across the state discussed how a hike would benefit companies of all sizes by boosting the economy and reducing turnover costs for companies....

By John Wagner
Washington Post, March 6, 2014

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) said Thursday that he is disappointed that the House of Delegates dropped a provision from his minimum-wage bill that called for automatic increases based on inflation and said he will lobby the Senate to restore it. O’Malley’s bill, which faces a final vote in the House on Friday, would gradually raise Maryland’s minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 by 2017. The provision struck by the House would have made additional increases automatic after that. ...

His comments came during a broader roundtable...

Office of Governor Martin O'Malley, Release, March 6, 2014

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor O’Malley today toured the Linemark printing plant in Upper Marlboro, Md. and joined a group of business owners for a roundtable discussion to show their support for increasing Maryland’s minimum wage.

Governor O’Malley, as a part of his administration’s ongoing efforts to strengthen and grow Maryland’s middle class, has proposed raising the minimum wage as one of his top priorities for the 2014 legislative session. On Monday, his proposal continued to advance through the General Assembly with a favorable vote from the Economic Matters...

Associated Press (AP)/ CBS Baltimore, March 6, 2014

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Gov. Martin O’Malley visited Upper Marlboro for a discussion with businesses owners who support a minimum wage increase. O’Malley also toured Linemark, a printing and Internet services company, Thursday morning. The roundtable discussion was held at the same location at 10:30 a.m. ...

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By Heesun Wee, Editor, CNBC.com
CNBC, Feb 28, 2014

... The wage fight is vocal and contentious as ever. ...

A case for higher pay

Of course not everyone in the food business opposes higher wages. Proponents include executives at Zingerman's, a delicatessen and food business in Ann Arbor, Mich. The original deli opened about 30 years ago and has since expanded to eight related businesses, employing a permanent staff of more than 600 workers.

Zingerman's has driven sales by investing in employees through subsidized health care and above average wages. "We invest heavily in our staff with...

New York Times Editorial, Feb 27, 2014

Much of the discussion about the Democratic proposal to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour by 2016 has rightly focused on the workers who will clearly benefit from the move. But what about businesses? How would higher wages affect them?

The answer — contrary to a great deal of reflexive hand-wringing by some conservative think tanks and politicians — is surprisingly positive. Scholarly studies and the experience of businesses themselves show that what companies lose when they pay more is often offset by lower turnover and...

By Will Brown
Connecticut Post, Feb 26, 2014. Stamford Advocate, Danbury News Times, Greenwich Time

... Wednesday afternoon, DeLauro, Pelosi and other backers announced they are using a discharge petition to try to pry the minimum-wage increase out of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, where it has languished for nearly a year. ... Such a petition requires a majority vote of the House to successfully move the bill from the committee to the floor. ...

Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.), who filed the petition, said, "That's all we're asking for -- the opportunity to vote on...

By Steve Raabe
The Denver Post,  02/26/2014

Raising the U.S. minimum wage to $10.10 an hour would improve the economy as well as living conditions for hundreds of thousands of Coloradans, a federal official said Wednesday at a Denver event. 

"It has a positive economic impact," said Laura Fortman, deputy administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor's wage and hour division. "These (minimum-wage) workers are not investing their money in offshore accounts," Fortman said. "They are paying rent and buying groceries. If they have some extra disposable income, maybe they'll take the family out for a...

By Deirdre Walsh, CNN Senior Congressional Producer
CNN, February 26, 2014

... House Democrats filed what is known as a "discharge petition" on Wednesday. If they get a majority of members to sign it, Republican leaders must put the Democratic bill increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour on the floor. Even if all 199 House Democrats signed the petition, it would take roughly 18 Republicans to defy their leaders and press for a vote. ...

Even though Congress isn't likely to pass anything this year, a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed...