Virtual Press Conference: Gov's Minimum Wage Plan Falls Short and Leaves out 2M Workers

ALBANY, NY (02/01/2023) (readMedia)-- Workers, lawmakers, and advocates will hold a virtual press conference to explain how the Governor's minimum wage proposal, which would only index the wage floor without first raising it to at least $21.25, will leave 2 million workers out in the cold. The group will also release new research from Columbia University and the University of California, Berkeley analyzing the positive economic impact that raising the wage to $15 in 2018 had in New York.

The Raise Up NY coalition supports the Raise the Wage Act, sponsored by Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Latoya Joyner, which would increase the minimum wage to at least $21.25 by 2027 to keep up with the 40-year-high cost-of-living crisis, and then index the wage rate annually. The Act would benefit 2.9 million workers with an average annual increase of $3,300. In comparison, Governor Hochul's proposal would benefit only 900,000 workers, with an average annual increase of just $670. The difference is substantial: 2 million fewer workers would benefit from the Governor's proposal, and their annual additional pay would be $2,600 less than under the Raise the Wage Act.