Polito on minimum wage: go to $11 "and then follow it from there"
SHNS
Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito on Tuesday did not rule out supporting a $15 an hour statewide minimum wage, but said she wants to first see how employers handle the next scheduled minimum wage increase to $11.
"We have an increase in the minimum wage that will be effective in January of 2017 at the rate of $11. We need to see that in place and go from there," Polito told the News Service. She added, "I think that at $11, let's see it take place in 2017 and I think that's just one piece of this."
Raise Up Massachusetts, the coalition of unions, workers and activists that successfully pushed for a minimum wage increase in 2014, announced Tuesday a campaign for a $15 per hour statewide minimum wage.
"We want people in this commonwealth to have access to good jobs, access to opportunity and certainly the minimum wage is a part of that," Polito said. "We have an incredible tech economy that many are participating in and those that are not connected to the tech economy, we want them to connect to work. Work matters and it uplifts individuals, it uplifts families and the minimum wage that will be implemented in January needs to take place and we need to see the business community work with that and then follow it from there."
A Shrewsbury Republican, Polito voted as a member of the House in 2006 to raise the minimum wage from $6.25 an hour to $8 per hour by 2008.
In April, Gov. Charlie Baker said he thinks Massachusetts should let the planned wage floor increase "play out" and use other approaches to combat income inequality before considering another hike.
House Speaker Robert DeLeo was not available to comment, his office said, and an aide noted the minimum wage increase bill, when filed, will go through the usual committee vetting process. Senate President Stanley Rosenberg attended a rally Tuesday in support for a $15 an hour wage floor, but his office did not make him available to comment.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments