by Mike Hall, Jul 24, 2006

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) hit the state’s low-wage workers directly in the wallet July 21 when he rejected a minimum wage bill that won unanimous approval from the state legislature.

The bill would have increased the state’s minimum wage from $6.75 an hour to $8 in two steps. Romney sent the bill back to the legislature and proposed a miserly 25-cent an hour increase in the Bay State’s minimum wage, last raised seven years ago.

Because Romney did not technically veto the measure, the legislature either can accept his proposal or return the $8 an hour measure to the governor, in which case he would have 10 days to sign or veto it.

Following Romney’s move, state Rep. James Marzilli (D) said:

Four years ago, Mitt Romney promised voters of Massachusetts that he would immediately increase the minimum wage to almost $7 an hour and index it to inflation. I expect the House and Senate will reject his dishonesty.

In a scathing statement, Massachusetts AFL-CIO President  Robert Haynes called Romney’s action “deplorable” and “insulting.”

It is deplorable that Governor Romney would belittle hard-working people by putting forth his paltry and insulting increase. It also represents his latest flip-flop, proving he’ll say anything to get elected and then just do the opposite to cater to his financial right-wing tennis buddies. He promised indexing the minimum wage during his campaign, and the Legislature’s raise at least provides an increase over the next few years. Contrary to what he promised in his campaign, Governor Romney’s minimum wage bill is just a one-time joke of a raise with no guarantee of any future raises. If it wasn’t so insulting, the idea of a one-time quarter raise for hard-working people would be laughable.

The federal minimum wage has not been rasied in a decade, and Massachusetts is one of 19 states where the AFL-CIO America Needs a Raise campaign has mobilized to win minimum wage increases through legislation or ballot initiatives.

Find out more here about how union activists are working to raise the minimum wage in their states.

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