In perhaps a sign of things to come, and what could likely be his last legislative maneuver on Beacon Hill, Governor Deval Patrick threw his support behind an increase in minimum wage for Massachusetts employees. Governor Patrick announced earlier that he will not be seeking another term as chief executive of the commonwealth, though during his last year in office the minimum wage debate is expected to ignite further.
Back in November, the Massachusetts Senate voted overwhelmingly to increase minimum wage in the Bay State, now sitting at $8 per hour, to $11 an hour over a three-year interval. During that time, rates would jump to $9 per hour on July 1, 2014; followed by $10 per hour on July 1, 2015; and finally settling in at $11 an hour starting July 1, 2016.
Despite passing the Senate by a margin of 32-7, an increase in minimum wage is controversial because the bill ties subsequent increases to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) specific to the Northeast for the first time, meaning wage increases would parallel the rate of inflation and rise accordingly every year.
According to State House News Service via MassLive, Governor Patrick commented:
I like the idea of raising the minimum wage. I think it’s time. And I like the idea of updating our unemployment insurance issues. And I think there’s probably a place in between where many of the representatives of business are, and some of the representatives of labor are, or have been, that is a good compromise.
Insurance reform is exactly where Bob Luz, CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association and staunch opponent of a wage increase, suggests the Bay State would supplement savings once more money is shelled out to workers. He, along with those who work in retail, contest that a wage boost would be crippling to their respective industries on the grounds that a significant portion of them are comprised of small businesses that are ill-equipped to handle such an influx.
But to counter Luz’s stance, it’s important to understand that restaurant workers and tipped workers have relied partially on a base rate of $2.63 since 1999, while the value of their earnings has decreased since the late 1960s when adjusted for inflation.
The measure still has to pass the Massachusetts House of Representatives, of which Speaker Bob DeLeo has been noticeably indifferent in his opinion on the matter.
