As a kind of mom and pop operation who employees 5-7 employees annually… this news is bummer.
First off, by not raising minimum wage across the board to $15 and letting inflation take care of the rest, this kind has put my industry in a bind. I currently pay between $12-$15/hr for skilled labor. These are people who are actually busting their butts to learn trade skills and risking their body to make this kind of money. Now, you say $12-15 an hour doesn’t sound like much - but it’s a fair labor rate for those who are willing to go the extra distance to keep them out of a minimum wage job while simultaneously learning a trade skill.
Now I’m in the predicament of: Do I keep my wages the same for my workers and risk losing trained talent to another industry? Or do I raise my wages to be competitive with the new $15 an hour minimum?
I’ve worked as a fry-cook and at a pizza place as a teenager - the money was shit to the point where it barely made sense to do it… Which is why I got into the construction business. It’s no doubt hard work but there are two things it is not: Skilled labor, or RISKY labor. I mean, there are a million ways to become disabled on a construction job site, the pay has to reflect that.
Realistically, I will have to raise my prices accordingly which is probably not going to help earn business in the short run. This is an unfortunate event for all those who own a small business, make between $10-$20 and hour doing something else, and the end consumers who will have to pay for this.
What a bullshit crutch. Glad I’m not living there.
This does nothing but continue to butt fuck poor and middle class people. The increased cost of goods an service will be passed onto Middle Class and inflation will continue to crush poor and middle class people. Doesn’t matter though, rich people will continue to get rich.
They have a much easier pool of money to raid…the NYS pension system. Really though, I’m almost positive tax revs are one of the things they were thinking about.
Well the good news is i used to work at mcdonalds, so when i get tired of bustibg my ass for a little nore pay, ill go take a pay cut for a stress free easy job.
I taught myself how to program. I started a company. I make way more than the highest figure listed here. I have no college degree. I just worked a lot of fucking 80 hour weeks for a long while and it paid off.
Man, that article is spot on with the last paragraph. I’ve been attacked today for my belief that going about this the way that they are is wrong. People think that I don’t want to see others do well, I don’t want to see the lower class paid better, etc…
Im all for raising minimum wage across the board, not for just fast food workers. I don’t agree with using that class to get the ball rolling. It sets a bad example and it rewards the wrong type of worker. Not to mention that it moves them higher than most classes that it shouldn’t be ahead of.
im so pissed off over this whole thing, I think I just need to stop talking about it. So many people who are against this, but one man who has the power to make it happen. How did Cuomo get elected again, oh that’s right, the same down state slugs that are driving this wage hike…
It seems like you would pick a state with a better economy to try these experiments with not the one at the top in taxes and first in worst places to do business :lol:
when I herd this does not take place until 2021 I laughed. making 15 a hour is not decent money now and making that money in 5 years will be total BS at the rate inflation is going. Before 2021 we will have new officials in NYS and the law will likely get changed by the next guy anyway. This sounds like a BS political stunt to me.
So, what should I tell my students when they inevitably tell me they’d rather work at McDonald’s for $15 an hour over learning G&M code and operating a CNC mill for $15 an hour?
People keep bringing up Seattle as an example of where this “worked”
Seattle is a large city not an entire state what would have made more sense is bring the hourly pay inline with the living wage which is $10 in Erie County and $14.XX in NYC instead of forcing what is good for NYC on the rest of the state.