Minimum Wage Hike Closer in N.C., Mass.

by Donna Jablonski, May 30, 2006

Two more states are a step closer to raising their minimum wage rates.

In North Carolina, the state House and Senate have voted to raise the minimum wage by $1 an hour to $6.15, possible by Sept. 1. The Massachusetts Senate voted last week to make the state’s minimum wage the highest in the nation, raising the current rate by $1.50 in two steps, from $6.75 to $8.25 by September 2007, and linking future minimum wage increases to the cost of living starting in 2008.

The minimum wage raise passed the North Carolina Senate would take effect Sept. 1, and the House version, which will get a final vote today, would increase the wage starting Jan. 1, benefiting nearly 140,000 workers. The two versions must be reconciled before the measure goes for signature to Gov. Mike Easley (D), who had proposed a minimum wage increase in his budget, according to The Charlotte Observer.

A Massachusetts minimum wage increase could help nearly a half million workers, says the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. The version passed by the state House, which could reach a vote in two weeks, would raise the wage to $7.75 per hour without tying future increases to inflation. The Massachusetts AFL-CIO is urging workers to call their state representatives and tell them to adopt the Senate’s version. Sen. Marc Pacheco (D), a leader in the effort to lift the Massachusetts minimum wage, told the Associated Press (AP) more than 60 percent of those benefiting from the increase would be women and one-third are the sole financial support for their families.

“For those who say this is just for teenagers, that is not true,” he told the AP.

As legislation to raise the federal minimum wage remains stalled—since 1997—in Congress, states are stepping up to the plate. The AFL-CIO and Working America are leading efforts in nearly 20 states as part of an “America Needs a Raise” campaign. See our most recent coverage of state minimum wage actions here, here and here.

State action, though, does not absolve Congress. Click here to urge your U.S. representative to sign a discharge petition to bring the minimum wage increase to the House floor, and click here to become a citizen co-sponsor of the U.S. Senate bill to raise the wage.

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