A Quinnipiac University poll released Friday morning revealed that 62% of all New York voters support Cuomo’s plan to incrementally increase the minimum wage to $15. But every other demographic offered strong support for a $15 an hour minimum wage, the poll said.
Cuomo, speaking to the annual gathering of the state Business Council at a hotel on the shore of Lake George, said he was open to some sort of tax relief for businesses to offset the increased costs they would incur from the higher minimum wage. If approved by the state legislature, the increase would be phased in gradually. New York State’s minimum wage is set to rise to $9 at the end of the year.
“How many more people or jobs need to leave New York before the governor wakes up?”
Cuomo was received warmly by the Business Council members and received a standing ovation at the conclusion of his remarks from the 200 or so members who were in the ballroom.
John Santos, the Hudson Valley district director and vice president of 32BJ Service Employees global Union, said an increase like the one proposed by Cuomo could make a big difference for its members. We don’t have a king of New York.
In May, Cuomo instructed Mario J. Musolino, the acting commissioner of the state Department of Labor, to impanel a wage board to investigate and hold hearings about raising wages in the fast-food industry.
A bill will be introduced in the next legislative session for a statewide $15 minimum wage. Briccetti says her group plans on endorsing the Republican, Fred Akshar, in the special State Senate race in the Southern Tier.
The problem is, experts have been divided on if increasing the minimum wage actually helps lower-income individuals.
“Gov. Andrew Cuomo caused a bit of a stir when he came out for a $15 minimum wage”.
“The Senate Democratic Conference has been the most vocal advocate of correcting the inadequacies of New York’s current minimum wage, and we look forward to this fight”, said Cousins in a statement. The 2013 law has increased the minimum wage in steps over the last two years beyond the federal rate of $7.25 an hour.