New York – Business organizations and owners across New York State are calling on lawmakers to enact the minimum wage increase to $9 that was already passed in the State Assembly with indexing for inflation and no provisions that would weaken coverage for tipped workers or any other workers covered by existing law.
As said in a joint statement signed by Costco, the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, Eileen Fisher, ABC Home, Buffalo First, BALCONY, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, Hudson Valley ReThink Local and nearly 400 business owners and organizations across New York:
“With far less buying power than it had four decades ago, today’s minimum wage means poverty for working families and weakens the consumer demand at the heart of our economy. A higher minimum wage makes good business sense. It puts money in the hands of New Yorkers who will put it right back into local businesses, buying needed goods and services. And nothing drives business job creation more than consumer demand. Increasing minimum wage also reduces the strain on our social safety net caused by inadequate wages.”
The joint statement refutes claims that a minimum wage increase will cost jobs, pointing out, “The most rigorous studies of the impact of actual minimum wage increases show they do not cause job loss – whether during periods of economic growth or during recessions.”
Greater New York Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Jaffe said, “We surveyed our members and the majority indicated support for raising the minimum wage. No wonder – it makes perfect business sense. People with low incomes tend to spend their additional pay buying needed goods and services. Therefore, a minimum wage increase will boost the economy and help businesses grow. Raising the minimum wage to $9 and indexing it to inflation is the right thing to do so that workers can keep pace with New York’s high cost of living.”
Darius Ross, Managing Partner of D Alexander Ross Real Estate Capital Partners, said, “Raising the minimum wage makes good business sense in three ways: productivity, profitability and prosperity. With more adequate wages, businesses experience decreased worker turnover and greater worker morale and productivity. Nothing drives business owners like me to hire additional workers more than increased consumer demand. And raising the minimum wage puts more money in the hands of the very people who most need to spend it. That means more revenues for businesses, and a stronger, more prosperous economy creating lasting new jobs. Our workforce, businesses and communities need a minimum wage raise now.”
Melanie Beam, President of Capital District Local First, an independent business alliance in Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Saratoga Counties, said, “It hurts our economy when big chain stores pay workers so little they have to work two jobs or rely on public assistance to scrape by. Full-time workers should be able to afford the basic necessities businesses are eager to sell, and no business owner who pays a living wage should be undercut by competitors who do not. A higher minimum wage would level the playing field for small businesses in New York and keep more dollars circulating in our local economy and our tax base.”
“Many small business owners support a higher minimum wage, recognizing that more income flowing through our economy can also benefit us as our customers have more income,” said Jonathon Welch, Co-Founder of Talking Leaves Books, Buffalo’s oldest independent bookstore. “Relating the minimum wage to the consumer price index is a critical part of legislation raising the minimum wage because it allows me to plan into the future for reasonable increases.”
“Raising the minimum wage will provide concrete benefits from Long Island to upstate, said Jon Cooper, President of Spectronics Corporation in Westbury, a manufacturer with more than 150 employees. “Increasing the purchasing power of low-paid workers will pump millions of dollars into our state’s economy. This will provide a much-needed stimulus to small businesses, many of which continue to struggle during the slow recovery.”
“The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) and its member organizations represent more than 165,000 businesses and more than 300,000 entrepreneurs and other business professionals in New York and across the country,” said New York City-based ASBC CEO David Levine. “In independent polling released by ASBC and other business organizations, the top concern of small business owners was the lack of consumer spending. Raising the minimum wage would lift the floor under wages, which in turn lifts consumer demand and strengthens our economy for sustainable job creation.”
The business sign-on statement began after Gov. Cuomo proposed a minimum wage increase to $8.75 in the State of the State address and continued after legislative proposals increased to $9 with indexing following the President’s State of the Union. The statement points out that if the state’s minimum wage had kept up with inflation since 1970, the minimum wage would be $10.70 now, not $7.25.
Visit Business For a Fair Minimum Wage for the current list of signers and the full statement.