A tentative agreement to raise New York's minimum wage to as much as $17 in the coming years has drawn critics from both sides of the aisle.
Progressive Democrats, labor union organizations and advocates are holding out for a $21.25 proposal initially made earlier this year in order to support low-income New Yorkers. Republicans and leading business groups argue the wage hike, which is also expected to be tied to inflation, will hurt job creation and drive up costs further.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has signaled support for the proposal, reported Tuesday by Spectrum News 1.
Under the framework, the minimum wage in the New York City area would increase from $15 an hour to $17 by 2026. North of Westchester County, the wage would grow from $14.20 to $17 by 2028.
Once phased in, future increases would be tied to the rate of inflation.
"New Yorkers are struggling and we have to raise wages so they can pay their bills, pay their rent, pay their utility bills, pay for food for their kids," Hochul said this week. "I put out tying to inflation, but from the beginning have been open to a conversation."
Wage increases have often been the product of compromise in Albany. The current wage law is the product of a multi-sided agreement that included then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republicans who held power in the state Senate.
For supporters of a higher wage, the measure would help lift struggling families facing higher costs. For businesses, they argue the wage increase would add even more costs for them to operate.
This potential compromise is not sitting well with Democrats in the state Legislature who had supported a $21.25 wage and then link it to inflation.
"Working families are making the choice to leave New York state every day because they can’t afford to live here, because they can’t afford to raise their family here, they can’t afford to buy a home here in New York state," said state Sen. Jessica Ramos, the chair of the Senate Labor Committee.
Ramos and fellow Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday called for the final agreement to be higher than $17 given it would be much less than other areas of the country as the cost of living continues to rise.
"I talk to my neighbors about the difficult time they are going through and I know the squeeze is being felt across the state," Ramos said.
ALIGN, a group that includes prominent labor unions, also knocked the $17 plan.
“Gov. Hochul and State legislators represent the people of New York, and it is their duty to make our great state a prosperous home for all. But under record inflation and a historic cost-of-living crisis, a $17 minimum wage does not add up to livable wage," the group said. "It is simply not enough."
Republican state Sen. Tom O'Mara, meanwhile, knocked the proposal for its potential effect on the cost of living as well as jobs.
"That’s a real hindrance to expanding and growing business and those opportunities for jobs and businesses to come as they try to compete in a global economy," O'Mara said. "The cost of living in New York, the cost of goods and services go up across the board and eventually just wash out these increases in the minimum wage."
And on Wednesday, business organizations pushed back as well. The coalition Grow NY Farms, a coalition of agriculture businesses, in a letter to Hochul and top Democrats urged them to pause any increases.
"As multi-generational farms continue to shutter due to tightening margins and suffocating regulations, our rural towns, local farmer’s markets, and food pantries that rely heavily on New York’s agribusinesses will suffer the consequences," the group said.