Florida Voters give minimum-wage workers a pay hike
/Thousands of Floridians who earn minimum wage will get bigger
paychecks because voters overwhelmingly approved a $1 raise in the
wage, from $5.15 to $6.15, on Tuesday. "This is really a huge victory
for Florida's working families," said Meghan Scott, communications
director for Floridians For All, the group that sponsored the measure.
"Once people heard what Amendment 5 was and what it would do for
Florida's working poor, people really got it." Employers must start
paying the new wages six months from now or face double damages for
unpaid wages, attorney's fees and fines by state regulators. Proponents
of the $1 minimum-wage bump say 300,000 workers will benefit from the
bigger paychecks and an additional 550,000 workers will benefit from
"ripple-effect" wage increases. That's because the wage will be
adjusted every September by the rate of inflation. Opponents of the
higher wage, which include Gov. Jeb Bush and business groups, argued
that raising the wage would cost tens of thousands of Floridians their
jobs, health-care coverage and retirement benefits. [more]
- The last increase in the federal minimum wage,
from $4.25 an hour to $5.15, came during the Clinton administration in
1997. Twelve other states have minimum wages higher than the federal
level, led by Alaska at $7.15 per hour.
- Studies have found no link between wage boosts and
significant job losses among the other states that have bumped up the
minimum wage. Analysts project that in Florida, the impact on consumers
will be slight.
- A full-time worker who is being paid the current minimum wage earns $10,712 a year, and is living at a level that is 28 percent below the 2003 federal poverty threshold for a family of three. A study funded by a group supporting the higher minimum wage, the Center for American Progress, found the total estimated cost to Florida employers would be $443 million, of which $406 million would be borne by private business.
