GROSSMAN AGAIN ENDORSES MIN WAGE HIKE AHEAD OF HEARING With a legislative committee preparing to take testimony Tuesday on proposals to raise the minimum wage, Treasurer Steven Grossman on Monday threw his weight behind the effort, endorsing an increase in the state’s $8 per hour minimum wage, but stopping short of recommending a specific rate. “If Charles Dickens was alive today he would write ‘A Tale of Two Commonwealths’ – one about prosperous, thriving communities filled with low unemployment, state of the art schools and modern transportation infrastructure, and another about Gateway Cities suffering from too few jobs and teachers, along with too little hope and dignity,” Grossman wrote to the chairs of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. “In government, the most vulnerable citizens are our responsibility. We cannot afford to leave anyone behind.” Grossman said he supports a three-year phase-in of any increase to the minimum wage to mitigate the hit on businesses, but dismissed critics who argue the cost to businesses will hurt hiring and job growth. “I believe that high turnover and workers whose focus is distracted by a struggle to provide for their families also cost businesses money and market share,” Grossman wrote. This is not the first time Grossman has come out in support of raising the minimum wage. The Newton Democrat took a similar position in 2012 when the Legislature began considering bills to raise the wage rate. The issue has gained more momentum over the past year with Senate President Therese Murray calling for a serious debate over what a “living wage” in Massachusetts should be. Grossman cited a Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center analysis in his letter reporting that the buying power of the minimum wage in Massachusetts, last raised to $8 in 2008, has eroded to $7.41 for the 94,000 paid at the minimum level. - M. Murphy/SHNS
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 02:52:47 +0000
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