GOVERNOR DEVAL PATRICK
BOSTON — Gov. Deval Patrick signed a law yesterday that would raise the state’s $8 per hour minimum wage to a U.S.-leading $11 per hour by 2017.
The governor told a Statehouse ceremony that the new law would provide financial help to thousands of low-income workers, but said more needed to be done to improve economic opportunity for all Massachusetts residents.
“This minimum wage is great progress, but it’s not a livable wage,” Patrick said to applause from members of Raise Up Massachusetts, a coalition that had gathered more than 350,000 signatures in favor of a minimum wage hike.
“Keep looking ahead and above all, keep in mind that people for whom the American dream is still just a dream … deserve the chance for themselves and their families to dream along with the rest of us,” Patrick said.
“Raising the minimum wage brings a little relief to the working poor, many of whom do jobs we could not live without and who recycle money right back into the economy,” said Patrick. “By signing this bill, we show the nation that opportunity can and must be spread outward, not just upward. I thank the Legislature for their important work in reaching this milestone.”
The first increase in the minimum wage, to $9 per hour, will take effect on Jan. 1. The hourly wage will bump up to $10 on Jan. 1, 2016 and to $11 on Jan. 1, 2017, which would be above any increase currently planned in other states.
“The minimum wage should help people out of poverty, not trap people in poverty,” said Richard Trumka, president of the national AFL-CIO, who attended the ceremony. In some states, he said, calls for increasing the minimum wage were being resisted by lawmakers and governors.
President Barack Obama, who has proposed hiking the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, has praised Massachusetts lawmakers for “standing up for working men and women.”
State officials said the new law would affect about 600,000 minimum wage workers along with an additional 200,000 tipped workers, such as restaurant servers, whose minimum wage before tips would rise from $2.63 per hour to $3.75 per hour by 2017.
Some business leaders remained skeptical of the changes.
“This is a one-sided piece of legislation that largely ignores the pleas of the small businesses for balance, and instead ensures that Massachusetts will continue to be one of the most expensive and difficult places to operate a retail business in the nation,” said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, in a statement.
Other business owners backed the change. Holly Sklar, head of the group Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, argued that putting more money into the pockets of workers would generate more economic activity in the state.
The new law also seeks to stabilize unemployment insurance costs for businesses by imposing a three-year rate freeze and making adjustments in rating tables.
“I am very proud of the Legislature for taking action to address minimum wage and unemployment insurance reform in the Commonwealth,” said Senate President Therese Murray. “Increasing the minimum wage to $11 an hour will provide much-needed relief to many hard-working residents and, by updating our unemployment insurance rating table and introducing a multi-rate freeze for our businesses, we are rewarding responsible companies and providing more financial predictability. These changes are necessary to create an environment here in Massachusetts where residents can succeed and thrive.”
“Today’s bill signing marks a new and hopeful beginning for families across the Commonwealth,” said House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo. “The industrious spirit of Massachusetts residents has made our state an economic and cultural leader. This legislation bolsters that asset, empowers hardworking individuals and provides businesses with the reform they need to be catalysts for economic growth. I thank Governor Patrick, Senate President Murray and my colleagues in the Legislature for their work on this landmark bill.”
Under the bill, reforms to the state’s unemployment insurance system would freeze UI rates for employers for three years and expand the wage base subject to those rates to $15,000. It also extends from one to three years the period the Department of Unemployment Assistance reviews an employer’s usage of UI benefits which is another factor in determining employer premiums.
“A 38 percent pay raise means a lot to low-wage workers who may have to work several jobs just to put food on the table,” said Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Rachel Kaprielian. “Massachusetts is leading the way in bringing them closer to earning a paycheck they and their families can live on.”
“When it comes to moving our economy forward, we cannot afford to leave any of our workers behind,” said Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Greg Bialecki. “By raising the minimum wage, Massachusetts leads the nation in providing economic fairness to residents throughout the Commonwealth. I applaud the Governor for signing this important bill.”
The bill includes federal health and safety protections for state workers, delivering on Executive Order No. 511 issued by Governor Patrick in 2009. That Executive Order established the Massachusetts Employee Safety and Health Advisory Committee to study ways to implement prevention standards in order to reduce the costs state agencies pay for worker injuries and illnesses.
“This is a huge step forward for the Commonwealth,” said Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, Executive Director of the workplace safety group, the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health (MassCOSH). “By instituting health and safety measures that are known to prevent injury and death, we will protect the well-being of our state’s employees and save the taxpayers costly workers compensation costs.”
The bill will also give both workers and employers continued protections from businesses that misclassify workers and abuse wage and hour laws creating unfair competition for employers who play by the rules by codifying the Joint Task Force on the Underground Economy (JTF). The JTF, established by Governor Patrick six years ago, has already collected millions of dollars in tax obligations and fines from unscrupulous employers. With the signing of this bill, the JTF will now become a permanent investigative unit to combat the underground economy.
