By ANNA GRONEWOLD and ELEONORA FRANCICA
04/25/2023 07:29 AM EDT
Presented by Resorts World New York City
New York lawmakers have given themselves until Friday to pass a state budget, and it seems this time they might be taking it seriously rather than dragging it out through multiple timelines, universes and dimensions. Could that have anything to do with the fact that their paychecks — with a the big raise Gov. Kathy Hochul approved last year — are on hold until a budget is in place?
One promising sign is a tentative deal to bring the minimum wage up to $17 per hour with small increases over the next couple of years. Future increases would then be tied to inflation, which Hochul had championed in her executive budget. It’s a good step for progressive labor advocates, but, like any budget compromise, doesn’t go as far as they like. They wanted to get New York past $20 an hour in the next couple of years, particularly to stay on pace with increases in other major cities.
“This puts New York behind Flagstaff, Arizona,” Senate Labor Chair Jessica Ramos tweeted Monday night in response to reports of the deal. “No disrespect to Flagstaff, Arizona.”
Another good signal toward an expedient finale is that the Senate and Assembly both had multi-hour conferences on Monday, meaning there was finally enough substance ready for members to chew on.
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