Statement by New York State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento on the Assembly's Amended Minimum Wage Proposal

ALBANY, NY (02/14/2013)(readMedia)-- Last year, Speaker Silver and the Assembly Majority led the way by introducing and passing legislation to raise the minimum wage and provide for indexation. Now as momentum builds with an increase included in the Governor's budget, the Assembly is once again at the forefront with legislation that mirrors the President's State of the Union proposal.

We applaud the Speaker, Assemblymembers Wright and Heastie, and their colleagues for recognizing that the days of minimum wage jobs being reserved to high school students earning some extra pocket money are long over. Raising the minimum wage will make a real difference in the lives of workers, many of whom are adults working full time, and many of whom have families to support.

We look forward to working with the Legislature and the Governor to raise and index the minimum wage.

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