NY has also jumped on the $15 bandwagon, with the entire state gradually increasing the minimum wage for fast-food workers within six years. Cuomo said he would work to pass legislation setting a $15 minimum for all industries, a promise that comes as more and more cities around the country move toward a $15 minimum wage.
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PEF President Wayne Spencer said, “The Public Employees Federation commends Governor Cuomo for acting to increase the minimum wage for state workers in NY”.
A few fast food workers are again demanding a higher minimum wage after walking off the job in Philadelphia and 270 cities today.
That did not stop advocates, who said the governor’s recent phased-in wage increase for fast food workers is too slow, from protesting at the Dunkin’ Donuts at the State Capitol. The raises will go into effect by December 31, 2018, in NY City and by July 1, 2021, for the rest of the state. According to the governor’s office, the minimum wage increase will apply to approximately 10,000 employees in executive agencies, the state Legislature, the judiciary and other agencies, including the Department of Law and the state comptroller’s office.
NY City Bill de Blasio said that would only help local economies. In a statement provided to NBC, McDonald’s said that it respects the rights of people to demonstrate, and that it and its franchisees “support paying our valued employees fair wages aligned with a competitive marketplace”. That equates to just over $300 per week and about $16,000 per year before taxes.
GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, when asked recently on MSNBC’s Morning Joe if he supported a higher minimum wage, said: “It’s such a nasty question, because the answer has to be nasty”.
NY State has a population of 19.75 million, with 8.4 million in NY City.
At yesterday’s 6:00 a.m. fast food walkout and rally in Downtown Brooklyn, workers spoke to the financial hardships they face on a daily basis.
And the logic of Douglas Hunter, a member of the National Organizing Committee of the Fight for $15, about expanding the group’s mandate is equally compelling: “What good is $15 an hour and a union if my daughter is murdered. We can live on $15 without living on government assistance and just being able to take care of our families”, says Shymara Jones.
Tuesday was also the day minimum wage protests were organized around the country.
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Currently, the minimum wage in San Francisco and Oakland is $12.25 per hour.
