"Everyone Wants A Raise When The Minimum Wage Goes Up"
Lobbyists opposing a minimum wage hike in New York say the quiet part out loud behind closed doors.
Twenty dollar bills being counted. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
The corporate lobbying group fighting a New York state effort to raise the minimum wage has publicly argued that an increase will throw more than a hundred thousand people out of work. But behind closed doors last week, the lobbying group claimed many of its members are already paying their lowest-paid workers more than the state minimum wage.
"I think the message that a lot of small businesses have been trying to send is that… a lot of businesses are paying well above the minimum wage because of the labor shortage right now," said Ashley Ranslow, the New York state director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the lobbying group hosting the call.
The real problem, Ranslow said, is that "everyone wants a raise when the minimum wage goes up," which creates "a spiraling and compounding effect for small businesses."
It's a remarkable admission from one of the main corporate lobbying groups fighting the legislative effort to increase New York's minimum wage — and directly contradicts her organization's public line.
"This is so typical — [NFIB is] 'Chicken Little' every time there's a proposal to raise the wage," said Paul Sonn, state policy director for the National Employment Law Project, which is backing the minimum wage increase. "But even they know the sky isn't falling. They're saying the quiet part out loud, admitting that the minimum wage is irrelevant right now, it's far too low, and would have to be an awful lot higher before it actually starts to have an impact."....
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