BRIDGEPORT — Friday is the end of the work week, and it is also the day when workers will start seeing an extra few bucks in their paychecks.
The state’s minimum wage is set to increase Friday from $13 an hour to $14. The increase is a result of a 2019 state law mandating a phased-in $15 minimum wage by 2023. According to the state’s Department of Labor, the wage increases will affect an estimated half-million workers by 2024.
“For too long, while the nation’s economy grew, the income of the lowest earning workers has stayed flat, making already existing pay disparities even worse and preventing hardworking families from obtaining financial security,” Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday.
Lamont, Mayor Joe Ganim and other state officials marked the coming pay hike Monday at Full Circle Youth Empowerment in Bridgeport. Director Janeen Reid praised the increase, saying it will help teens.
“Especially with this increase in the minimum wage, it really positively impacts our youth,” Reid said.
But according to Juliemar Ortiz, a community activist and former press secretary for Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, the increase is not enough. Ortiz, who is also attempting to petition her way onto a Democratic primary ballot for state Senate, said the increase was just too small to help out working families.
“While the minimum wage increase was an important step in the right direction, we can’t ignore the fact that $14 or $15 are still not livable wages in Connecticut,” Ortiz said.
According to the...
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