BOSTON – A higher minimum wage, a cut in the state sales tax and a repeal of a new tax on computer software services are just some of the issues that could be put before Massachusetts voters next year.
Democratic Massachusetts Senators Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren have voiced their support for two potential items on the 2014 Massachusetts ballot seeking to raise the state minimum wage and to grant workers mandatory sick time.
The group leading the charge to put these items to vote in the Commonwealth next year is “Raise Up Massachusetts,” a progressive coalition made up of labor, religious and community groups, who submitted the language for the ballot questions to the office of Attorney General Martha Coakley earlier this month.
Warren in particular has taken the lead on the proposed ballot questions. The Commonwealth’s senior senator has stated that she believes the state should raise its minimum wage from $8 to $10.50 an hour over two years, which would give Massachusetts the highest minimum wage in the country by over a dollar. She said it is a matter of fairness.
“Our workers are some of the most productive in the world, but no matter how hard they work, the minimum wage leaves them further and further behind,” Warren said. “Hardworking men and women who are busting their tails in full-time jobs shouldn’t be left in poverty.”
Critics say a higher wage would burden small businesses and tighten the job market.
According to the Department of Labor, the Commonwealth’s current minimum wage is already among the highest nationally; 75 cents above the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
Among the 45 states and four territories which comply with the federal minimum wage (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee do not have a set minimum wage, while American Samoa maintains its own), Massachusetts has one of the ten highest nationally, tied with California, and ahead of only Connecticut, the District of Columbia, and Illinois at $8.25, Vermont at $8.60, Oregon at $8.95, and Washington at $9.19 has the highest minimum wage in the United States.
Nevada also holds a minimum wage of $8.25 for workers with no health insurance benefits provided by the employer, while maintaining a $7.25 minimum wage for those workers with health insurance benefits provided by the employer and received by the employee.
While Warren is leading the charge for an increased minimum wage, Markey has become the torch-bearer for earned sick time.
“It is essential that workers have job security when they need to take time off to deal with an illness,” said the junior senator from Malden in a prepared statement. “Providing an earned sick-time policy for all workers, in addition to raising the state’s minimum wage, will benefit Massachusetts as a whole.”
In the Westfield, employers are caught in various stages of understanding regarding the proposed legislation.
“I really haven’t looked at the documentation, so I really can’t make a comment,” said Scott Ring, manager of the Springfield Road Walmart.
Walmart itself has 47 stores and employs 11,302 people in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. They make an average full-time hourly wage of $13.86 and have career-advancement and higher-paying opportunities, in addition to belonging to health care plans that meet quality standards under the federal Affordable Care Act, according to Walmart spokesman William Wertz.
“Any increase in the cost of doing business is going to be a challenge,” said Maureen Belliveau, executive director of the Westfield Business Improvement District. “Businesses want to do the right thing.”
“The easier to define for us is paid sick leave,” said Jeff Ciufredda, President of the Allied Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield (ACCGS). “This is not new for us… The chamber has opposed this. We find most employers offer paid sick leave, or are flexible with it.”
Ciufredda would go on to explain that the opinion of the ACCGS is that the issue of paid sick leave isn’t a one-size-fits-all fix.
“Those benefits are best left to the employer,” he said.
“We don’t have a pros and cons stance,” he said, regarding minimum wage. “January ’08 was the last time there was a minimum wage increase, but there are usually efforts made every year in the legislature to raise it.”
Ciufredda said the group will be researching the minimum wage, but he is confident some sort of legislation will pass.
“Over ten states have already increased theirs… but you have to be careful when you increase it, as it puts pressure on all the wages above it,” Ciufredda said.
Follow Peter Francis on Twitter @PeterFrancisWNG
