Claim The Current Standard Is Behind The Inflation Rate
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and State Sen. Jose Peralta were joined at Make the Road New York in Jackson Heights by Queens small business owners, workers and advocates for working families in calling for an increase in the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $9.80 over the next three years.
The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2012, co-sponsored by Gillibrand, would boost the incomes of an estimated 651,000 New York City workers, including approximately 184,000 Queens residents, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute. The bill would also generate an estimated $618 million of new consumer spending at New York City businesses according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Raising the minimum wage is one of the simplest and most effective policies for helping working families, and it is also a tool for economic growth, Gillibrand stated. When lowwage workers get a raise, they immediately spend it in their local communities, spending which ripples through the local economy.
“Working poor New Yorkers who go to work every day at minimum wage jobs aren’t even keeping pace with the rate of inflation,” said Gillibrand. “Not only does the current minimum wage oftenkeep these working families below the poverty line, it keeps needed spending power out of our local economy. Increasing the minimum wage is a common sense solution for our working poor families who are deciding which bill they can afford to pay this month and for our local Queens businesses who will profit from additional consumer spending.”
“There is no question low-wage workers here in Queens and across the country are struggling to make ends meet as costs continue to rise but their paychecks remain stagnant,” Rep. Joseph Crowley stated. “Wages must be at a level where New Yorkers can afford rent, put food on the table, and pay their bills and this proposed increase will help these families do just that. Raising the minimum wage also helps stimulate the economy, creating a boost for the many Queens businesses that will benefit from increased consumer spending.”
“During the 1960s and ’70s, a single minimum-wage job could support a family of three,” Peralta said. “Today, the same job isn’t enough to keep a family out of poverty. Increasing the minimum wage would not only better the lives of New York’s working poor, it would give our economy a much needed shot in the arm. Minimum wage earners cannot afford to sock away money, so any increase will immediately benefit local businesses through direct spending. Raising the minimum wage is both the right thing to do and the smart thing to do. The time has come to act.”
“Every day I go to work I wonder if my husband and I are going to be able to pay the bills and spend time with our little daughter Leslie,” said Leticia Guaman, a Queens resident and local factory worker who makes minimum wage. “I work at a factory that pays only the minimum wage, and after 35 hours of work a week I end up bringing home about $175 after taxes. It is impossible to cover the basic expenses for my family with this salary. For example, in order to cover the monthly rent of $1,300, my family sleeps in the living room and we rent out our bedroom. In order to save money, I walk to most places instead of taking the train.
“How is it possible that two parents working full-time can’t make enough to support their family?” she added. “We need a higher minimum wage, not just for my family, but for thousands of workers who struggle every day.”
Gillibrand, along with 16 of her Senate colleagues, is pushing the effort in the Senate to pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2012, legislation which would increase the minimum wage to $9.80 in three 85-cent increments over a three-year period. To keep up with the rising cost of living, the wage would be indexed to inflation.
The purchasing power of the minimum wage is currently at a historic low, Gillibrand stated, with the last increase in the federal minimum wage taking place in July 2009. If the minimum wage had kept up with inflation, it would be estimated at more than $10.50 an hour today.
The legislation will also raise the minimum wage for tipped workers for the first time in more than 20 years, raising it to a level that is 70 percent of the regular minimum wage.
A majority of the lowest wage earners in New York, or 84 percent, are adult workers, not teenagers in after-school and seasonal jobs. More than half of low-wage workers are women, many with children, and more than 40 percent are minorities, including an estimated 249,200 Hispanic residents in New York City who would benefit from a pay increase.
According to United NY, someone working full-time at minimum wage earns $290 a week, or just $15,080 yearly without any time off. This annual salary for a minimum wage earning working poor family of three is $3,000 below the poverty level on an annual basis, making it difficult to make ends meet and increasing dependency on government assistance programs.
The Fair Minimum Wage Act will boost the minimum wage to $20,000, lifting those working poor families above the poverty line.
