(March 5, 2013) Assemblymember Sam Roberts (D/WF-Syracuse) announced that legislation he sponsored to increase the minimum wage to $9.00 per hour in January 2014 passed the Assembly (A.38-A). In addition, the bill would index the minimum wage to inflation beginning in 2015 – reflecting annual changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) – and set wages for food service workers who receive tips to $6.21 per hour.
“I fought to raise the minimum wage because Central New York families need a boost,” Assemblymember Roberts said. “This is a perfect example of economic common sense: Hardworking families deserve to be paid a livable wage, and once the increase goes into effect, workers will see an increase in their purchasing power, improving our local economy. It’s time to get this done.”
The bump in wages would directly benefit nearly 1 million New Yorkers currently earning below $9.00 an hour. Overall, 36.7 percent of Syracuse residents live below the poverty line. In fact, in Syracuse alone, 53 percent of children live in poverty, the second-highest rate among New York’s largest cities.
New York’s minimum wage has increased just 10 cents per hour in the last six years and was last raised when the federal minimum wage increased from $7.15 to $7.25 an hour in 2009. In the past decade, the percent increase in CPI ranged from 1.6 percent to 3.8 percent annually. Over that time, gasoline prices rose 169 percent; education 72 percent; household energy costs 49 percent; medical care 45 percent; groceries 32 percent; and clothing 2 percent.
Roberts also pointed out that on this issue, New York is seriously lagging behind. The neighboring states of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont all have higher minimum wages, as do 16 other states and the District of Columbia. In addition, 10 other states have passed legislation indexing the minimum wage to inflation.