Raise Up NY Calls on Lawmakers to Lift Up 2.9 million New Yorkers with a $21.25 Minimum Wage

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ALBANY, NY (03/01/2023) (readMedia)-- Ahead of the Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on Labor, over 100 workers, businesses supporters, advocates, and members of Teamsters 294 and SEIU Local 200, and 32BJ came together at the Capitol on Wednesday to urge the Legislature to raise New York's minimum wage to at least $21.25 by 2027 and adjust it automatically each year after that to keep pace with the rising cost of living and gains in worker productivity. Many members of the Raise Up NY coalition provided testimony during the hearing and met with lawmakers throughout the day to drive home the importance of raising the minimum wage first before indexing it in the final enacted budget. Cities like Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, and Washington, DC are already raising their minimum wages to around $20 in response to the sky-rocketing cost of living, and states like Massachusetts and Vermont are proposing the same.

WATCH here and photos attached.

The Raise Up NY coalition supports the Raise the Wage Act (S1978A/A2204A), which would benefit 2.9 million New Yorkers, and put an average annual raise of $3,300 in their pockets, or an additional $63/week. By comparison, Governor Hochul's budget proposal-which would only adjust New York's minimum wage going forward-would result in raises that would translate to barely $13/week for the average worker.

Raising the minimum wage to at least $21.25 by 2027 is necessary to help address the worst cost-of-living crisis New Yorkers have experienced in 40 years, and will have similar impacts as the Fight for $15-which substantially increased earnings without resulting in any job loss. Five independent studies have found that New York's 2016 legislation, which raised the minimum wage to $15, led to historic reductions in poverty and earnings inequality in New York without hurting job growth. In fact, both upstate and down, jobs in New York grew at least as fast, and in many cases faster, than they did in similar counties in states that didn't raise the minimum wage during that period.. Raising the minimum wage also boosted sales at local businesses across New York and helped businesses keep their employees, saving them recruitment and retention costs.

"About 7-8 years ago I used to work at McDonald's and get paid minimum wage, which was not at all enough to make ends meet. Now, minimum wage workers get paid $14.20 upstate - which is certainly not enough to live on, given rising costs of living! The people we organize have told us over and over: rents have doubled, food is more expensive, utility bills are enormous. Folks have to be working 2 - 3 jobs to provide the basics for their families. That's why we need the Raise the Wage Act - to give millions of workers across the state a raise, and ensure the minimum wage never falls behind again," said Diana Lopez, Ulster County Community Organizer.

"Right now it feels like we need to have at least $100 in our pockets to leave our house and we just don't have it. Working families are suffering and so are small businesses. Cash for workers is cash for our streets. New Yorkers are literally falling behind. Eight other states have already pegged minimum wage increases to the consumer price index. Montana has done this. New Jersey has done this. New York used to be a leader on innovative progressive policies. It's time for us to get back in front," said State Senator Jessica Ramos, chair of the Senate Labor Committee.

"The Raise the Wage Act will provide much needed higher pay to 2.9 million working New Yorkers currently dealing with the effects of extraordinary rising costs," Assemblywoman Latoya Joyner (D-Bronx, 77th AD), chair of the Assembly Labor Committee, said. "Including this proposal in the One House Budget bill is of the utmost importance as it will give minimum wage workers including those in my district in The Bronx an average raise of $63 per week, and it will increase the wages of 2 million more New Yorkers than are included in the Governor's minimum wage proposal."

Recent independent academic studies show that New York's $15 minimum wage raised pay significantly without hurting job growth. The Institute of Research on Labor and Employment at the University of California, Berkeley released a report (attached) analyzing the effects of New York's $15 fast food minimum wage and any possible correlation to automation and job loss. Unlike the general minimum wage, which has been inching up to $15 upstate, the upstate fast food industry has been covered by a $15 minimum wage since 2021. Since fast food is one of the most underpaid and most labor-intensive occupations, any job losses associated with a higher minimum wage would be evident in that industry. However, the new UC Berkeley study found that both upstate and down the New York fast food industry grew at least as fast or faster than in other states that didn't raise the minimum wage. Additionally, there was no correlation between wage increases and increased automation. The fact that the state-wide $15 fast food minimum wage did not hurt job growth indicates that a $21.25 state-wide wage by 2027 is unlikely to do so. Moreover, the Berkeley study finds that if the $15 fast food minimum wage had been updated for inflation since it hit $15, it would be over $20 by 2026.

Columbia University's Poverty Tracker also analyzed the effects of the $15 minimum wage increase in New York City, and found similarly positive results for workers. The wage increase led to higher annual earnings and declining poverty rates for workers making the minimum wage, and did not result in any job loss.

But the historic gains of the Fight for $15 are being reversed as the cost of living has sky-rocketed and New York's minimum wage has remained frozen at $15 in most of the state. That's why the Raise Up NY coalition is advocating for New York to once again raise the minimum wage, and then ensure automatic increases to account for rising costs and worker productivity. The Raise the Wage Act, legislation sponsored by labor chairs State Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblywoman Latoya Joyner, is supported by 80% of New York voters, including 89% of Democrats, 82% of Independents, and 65% of Republicans.

Alissa Barron-Menza, Vice President of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said, "Our growing New York Business for a Fair Minimum Wage coalition, with hundreds of businesses and business organizations across the state, supports the Raise the Wage Act. It will put money in people's pockets, boost spending at local businesses, and help build a more resilient economy. The last few years have made it clearer than ever that low-wage businesses have more trouble hiring and retaining workers. Raising the minimum wage leads to lower employee turnover, better productivity, better service, and happier employees and customers. It will encourage the better business practices that help small businesses survive and compete."

Morris Pearl, chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and a former managing director at BlackRock, said, "New York made a great stride in the fight for fair wages in 2016, but with the costs of living continuing to rise, we must continue the progress we started and raise the wage again to allow those who work for a living to earn enough money to pay their bills and afford the basics. Our economy is based on consumer demand. When more people have more money to spend on more goods and services, our economy is much stronger."

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Raise Up NY is a coalition of workers, labor, community, and businesses-including ALIGN-NY, Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, Caring Majority, Churches United for Fair Housing, Citizen Action of New York, Columbia County Sanctuary Movement, Community Voices Heard, Construction and General Building Laborers' Local 79, CWA D1, For the Many, Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood, Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network, Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, Human Services Council, Indivisible Nation Brooklyn, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, Legal Aid New York, Legal Momentum, The Women's Legal Defense and Education Fund, Long Island Jobs with Justice, Make the Road NY, National Employment Law Project, New York Communities for Change, Northeast NY Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, Partnership for the Public Good, Retail Action Project, RWDSU, SEIU 32BJ, SEIU Local 200United, 1199SEIU, Strong Economy for All Coalition, Sunnyside Community Services, Teamsters Joint Council 16, Teamsters Local 804, Tompkins County Worker Center, UAW Region 9, UAW Region 9A, Western New York Council on Occupational Safety and Health (WNYCOSH), Alianza Agrícola, Labor-Religion Coalition of NYS, ROC United, Family Values @ Work, New York State Public Affairs Committee of the Junior Leagues, League of Women Voters of St. Lawrence County, NY, National Institute for Reproductive Health, Oxfam America, Equal Rights Advocates, Mekong NYC, National Women's Law Center, Girls for Gender Equity, NYSPAC, National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs-NYC, Citizens' Committee for Children, A Better Balance, Gender Equality Law Center, Her Justice, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Workers Center of Central New York, Worker Justice Center of New York, and Workers United - that backs legislation, which would raise New York State's minimum wage and ensure there are annual minimum wage increases so that it won't fall behind ever again.