Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers agree that New York state’s minimum wage should be raised and automatically adjusted to account for inflation.
But now the fight centers around what that amount should be.
Under Hochul’s proposal, the minimum wage would rise modestly to $16.40 downstate by 2026. The governor’s plan ties the minimum wage to the rate of inflation but caps the increase at 3% in any one year. For the average minimum wage-earning New Yorker working full time, that’s an extra $670 a year starting in 2026, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank based in Washington, D.C.
Progressive lawmakers and their allies say Hochul’s plan is inadequate and doesn’t go far enough to ensure that workers' paychecks keep up with the rising costs of living. Instead, they want to raise the average pay by $3,300 a year by 2026. To that end, legislation proposed by state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Queens) and Assemblymember Latoya Joyner (D-Bronx) would boost the minimum wage to $21.25 downstate by 2026 and tie future increases to inflation.
“We are talking about folks who do all sorts of important service work, but only make the minimum wage,” Ramos said. “And it is why it's so important that we allow these workers to make enough to keep a roof over their heads and put food on the table for their families.”
That fight is underway in Albany, pitting the moderate Democratic governor against progressive members of her party as they negotiate the state’s...
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