On LI, a push to raise the minimum wage

A coalition is fighting to increase the minimum wage for New Yorkers to $21.25 by 2026.

Members of the Raise UP NY coalition held a press conference in Uniondale last week, urging New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature to raise the state’s minimum wage. Advocates say that on Long Island it should be raised by 2026, and then adjusted automatically each year to keep up with not only rising costs of living but also gains in worker productivity.

“The current minimum wage doesn’t reflect the cost of living,” Deepti Brambl, CEO of Floral Park-based Kaylaan, a provider of oral care products, said in a statement.

The effort comes amid rising costs, where people, especially those earning minimum wage, struggle to make ends meet.  Right now the minimum wage is $15 an hour on Long Island when it was raised in 2021 to match the wage already set in New York City. That $15 minimum wage was enacted as part of the 2016-2017 state budget.

But with what advocates say is a cost-of-living crisis, the Raise the Wage Act (S1978A and A2204A) would help both workers and businesses alike.

Advocates say it would benefit 2.9 million New Yorkers and more than 500,000 people on Long Island and in Westchester County. If approved, the legislations would put an average annual raise of $3,300 in worker’s pockets, or an additional $63 per week. In comparison, advocates say that Gov. Kathy  Hochul’s budget proposal would only index New York’s minimum wage starting at $15, increasing worker pay by $13 a week for only 900,000 workers.

“We’ve seen firsthand the benefits of paying higher wages,” Brambl said. “People want to work for us, and higher retention saves us a lot of money and time that would otherwise go to hiring and training new people. Our employees are more efficient and productive, and they help our business grow.”

On Long Island, as well as in Westchester and New York City, the Raise the Wage Act would increase minimum hourly wages to $17.25 on Jan. 1, 2024; $19.25 in 2025; $21.25 in 2026; and $21.25 plus indexing in 2027. Indexing would use the formula combining cost of living and labor productivity that has been used to increase the minimum wage upstate. Advocates for the minimum wage increase say that with labor productivity growth, workers produce more goods and services for a given number of work hours.

According to a Sienna Poll released last month, 70% of new Yorkers support basing increases in new York’s minimum wage on the rate of inflation, with approval from 82% of the Democrats polled and 59% of the Republicans polled.

“Similar to last month, basing minimum wage increases on the inflation rate has strong bipartisan support,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said in a statement in February.

“Prices have increased but the minimum wage has not kept up. I see people going into supermarkets, and they go back out the door because they can’t afford things,” Phil Andrews, president of the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. “We can’t sustain a viable economy this way. Raising the minimum wage boosts consumer spending, which is important for workers and businesses.”

And supporters say the increase helps the economy.

“When we raise the minimum wage, that money goes right back into the economy as spending,” Bramble said. “It’s a positive cycle that lifts up working people and businesses like mine. And it also strengthens the tax base.”

Andrews said there is a “strong connection between employee pay and employee retention. More experienced, better trained employees deliver better customer service and improve your business. Raising and indexing the minimum wage will help Long Island’s economic development.”

Last week, Andrews and Brambl were joined by representatives from such organizations as Terracotta Flowers, Arch Fiberglass Corp, Strugatz Ventures, Blessed Hands Hair Salon and Barber Shop, Cinema Arts Centre and more. They stood together with New York Business for a Fair Minimum Wage.

“This policy proposal gives us the opportunity to break the cycle of infrequent changes to the minimum wage for Long Island’s working families,” said John Durso, the president of the Long Island Federation of Labor.

“Predictable minimum wage increases will provide workers with reliable increases and businesses the ability to budget and plan accordingly, rather than having to deal with sporadic and unpredictable increases,” Durso said. “Equalization and indexation of the minimum wage is critical to preventing the erosion of wages over time and will serve as a valuable recruitment and retention tool for the workforce. I urge New York State to pass, sign, and implement this policy to deliver a better future for our region and our state,”