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On Jan. 1, the new minimum wage, set at $15 an hour, went into effect in New York City, and most companies employing more than 10 people have to pay it. The increase, considered a crucial step in the fight against poverty, is the result of a hard-fought grass-roots organizing effort begun seven years ago and championed as a great victory by liberal politicians, even those who were initially not liberal enough to embrace it. But how much will the new standard do to alleviate some of the most punishing aspects of the city’s affordability crisis? Last year, San Francisco and...

New Jersey’s Democratic governor and lawmakers have reached a highly anticipated agreement to raise New Jersey’s minimum wage to $15 an hour for most workers by 2024. Under the deal, many workers will move gradually to a $15 minimum wage over five years. Some classes of workers, including those employed by small businesses with five or fewer employees, will have to wait longer. The deal had been held up by a disagreement over which workers should receive $15 an hour and when. Gov. Phil Murphy has called for $15 for all, while legislative leaders said there must be exceptions made...

The legal minimum wage for New York City employers with 11 or more workers rose more than 15 percent on Dec. 31, 2018, to $15 per hour from $13, giving fast-food, retail and other employees a bump in pay. But some New York City restaurant owners say the latest minimum wage hike is forcing them to cut workers' hours just to stay afloat. It's the third rise in the city's base wage since Dec. 31, 2016, when it went to $11 an hour. The latest increase is part of a plan that phases in minimum wage hikes across New York...

Durgin-Park, a renowned Boston restaurant, has been around for a long time. It opened in 1827, when Massachusetts’ own John Quincy Adams was president of the United States. Phil Klein of the Washington Examiner wrote: “The restaurant, located in Boston’s Faneuil Hall, was an institution and tourist attraction, serving New England staples, such as chowder, shepherd’s pie, prime rib, pot roast, and Boston cream pie.” But now, after nearly two centuries, it’s closing. Why? The owner says it’s due in part to a recently passed law that raised the minimum wage from $11 to $12 an hour on Jan. 1, and will further increase it...

...the restaurant will close on Jan. 12 because fewer customers are coming through the doors and costs have risen. Manager Kenneth Thimothee said the state’s new minimum hourly wage, which rose from $3.75 to $4.35 for tipped workers and from $11 to $12 for other employees, is partially to blame. And Durgin-Park will not be the only high-profile restaurant that will close this year, said Bob Luz, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. “We’re going to have a number coming up in the not-too-distant future,” Luz said, although he declined to say which ones. “It’s a confluence of...

At Granny Shaffer’s restaurant in Joplin, Missouri, owner Mike Wiggins is reprinting the menus to reflect the 5¢, 10¢ or 20¢ added to each item. A two-egg breakfast will cost an extra dime, at $7.39. The price of a three-piece fried chicken dinner will go up 20¢, to $8.78. The reason: Missouri’s minimum wage is rising. Wiggins said the price hikes are necessary to help offset an estimated $10,000 to $12,000 in additional annual pay to his staff as a result of a new minimum wage law taking effect Tuesday. […] New minimum wage requirements will take effect in 20...

Republican Gov. Rick Snyder on Friday signed a law making it harder for groups to put proposals on the Michigan ballot, imposing a geographical-based requirement that may prevent them from gathering signatures for petitions mainly from the most populated areas. The move followed voters’ passage of three Democratic-backed proposals last month and Republicans’ unprecedented tactic — enacted by the term-limited governor two weeks ago — to weaken minimum wage and paid sick time laws that began as ballot initiatives. Legal challenges are expected in Michigan and neighboring Wisconsin, where the GOP recently passed more sweeping laws to curtail incoming Democrats....

New York launches its higher minimum wage on Monday along with a tip line for people to report employers who aren't ponying up the extra pay. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that "the historic increase in the minimum wage" to as much as $15 per hour in New York City "continues to set a national example in the fight for economic justice." The phased-in minimum-wage hike was included in the state's 2016-17 budget and requires New York City's "big employers" -- those with more than 10 employees -- to pay $15 per hour while small NYC employers have to raise...

Uber, Lyft, Via, and Gett/Juno must pay on-demand drivers of their services a minimum of $17.22 an hour after expenses starting in mid-January 2019, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) announced Dec. 4. The commission claimed this will result in an average nearly $10,000 rise in earnings for 96% of drivers. About 80,000 people regularly drive for ride-sharing firms. The commission set a formula that will result in a gross hourly rate of up to $28 an hour to cover the average per-mile expenses drivers incur so that a driver’s effective freelance wage should net out to $17.22...

Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday night confirmed she will pay her interns at least $15 an hour. “Time to walk the walk,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Very few members of Congress actually pay their interns. We will be one of them.” Her message came after The Washington Post confirmed with her chief of staff that she intended to pay her interns the amount. Her tweet comes the day after Ocasio-Cortez called for lawmakers to increase pay for their interns and staffers. The rising Democratic star, a self-described democratic socialist, tweeted Monday that she visited a restaurant in Washington where she met...

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law the national minimum wage bill, his office said on Monday, part of efforts by the government to tackle wage inequality in Africa’s most industrialized economy. The National Minimum Wage Act sets South Africa’s minimum wage at 20 rand ($1.45) an hour, equal to 3,500 rand per month. […] Supporters of the minimum wage say it will reduce inequality and stimulate economic growth as workers spend more. But critics say it could lead to increased unemployment, already at record highs, because some employers won’t be able to afford higher wage bills. …

It would be best if Mexico stopped the oncoming hordes in the south of Mexico. I propose to give Mexico the incentives to do so, possibly lower wages for its workers here. The Mexican government will work hard to prevent ~$12/hour Mexican US worker wages from sinking to $4.50/hour or even $1/hour. Invading caravans will be intercepted and sent home. Walls will be quickly built in southern Mexico and manned. My proposed federal minimum wages, needed to secure our national borders and our effective voting rights, would override all state and local law. There would be two scales, one for...

"Working-class issues are the issues of the Democratic Party," Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) told Fox News's Maria Bartiromo on "Sunday Morning Futures." .. We got to get off this, you know, just talking about $15 an hour. We got to talk about how we get $30-, $40-, $50-an-hour jobs that people who work hard and play by the rules can be comfortable. I think people are tired of the anxiety, tired of not being comfortable, and the Democratic Party is pushing an agenda that will help those people.

Amazon, the massive online retailer, announced with great fanfare that it will raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour, and will encourage others across the nation to do the same. Is it unselfish public-mindedness, or political and competitive pressures that's behind the move? Sorry, Jeff Bezos, but we don't buy the social justice talk anymore. Anytime a multi-billion dollar corporation begins talking about social issues, check your wallet. And then look at who's pressuring them. That's certainly the case with Amazon, which on Tuesday announced the minimum wage hike. "We listened to our critics, thought hard about what we...

Amazon’s decision to raise workers’ minimum wage to $15 per hour was welcome news, But for some Amazon employees, the excitement didn’t last very long as they learned that existing financial incentives and bonus programs, including stock and monthly bonuses, that usually boost paychecks will be eliminated starting November 1. Several Amazon warehouse workers in the U.S., who spoke to Yahoo Finance on the condition of anonymity fearing reprisals, talked about how the change will negatively affect them. After the removal of these perks, some workers said they will be making less. Most of the workers who voiced concerns have...

D.C. lawmakers on Tuesday voted to overturn an initiative that would raise the minimum wage for tipped workers, just four months after voters approved the measure. The D.C. Council voted 8-5 to repeal the measure, known as Initiative 77, which would raise wages to $12.50 an hour. The move marks the first of several votes needed to send the legislation to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s (D) desk, according to The Washington Post. Bowser has already vowed to sign the repeal legislation, the Post reported. Under D.C. law, tipped workers are paid $3.33 an hour. Employers are required to make up the...

New York Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez portrays herself as "a normal, working person," but one of her positions may have helped 150 people lose their jobs. After enduring mockery for declaring Sunday that a walk in a national park was an example of democratic socialism, Ocasio-Cortez lamented Monday the shutting down of an iconic New York coffee shop that closed mostly due to a higher minimum wage – which Ocasio-Cortez supported. **SNIP** But unlike what Ocasio-Cortez wants you to believe about the closing down, it wasn’t the result of greedy capitalists trying to squeeze the workers, but rather government regulations...

The Democrats have decided that agendas are overrated. Back in May, the party unveiled its "Better Deal" program, calling for expanded broadband access, an increase in the minimum wage, and paid family and sick leave. Voters didn't bite. So last month the Democrats came up with "For the People," which simplifies the platform to infrastructure spending, lowering health care costs, and draining the swamp. Again, crickets. What to do? Party leadership has declared that it's every cis-het man for himself. "We trust our candidates to know their districts and the challenges facing their communities better than anyone," House campaign chair...

Poverty is no mystery, and it's easily avoidable. The poverty line that the Census Bureau used in 2016 for a single person was an income of $12,486 that year. For a two-person household, it was $16,072, and for a four-person household, it was $24,755. To beat those poverty thresholds is fairly simple. Here's the road map: Complete high school; get a job, any kind of a job; get married before having children; and be a law-abiding citizen. How about some numbers? A single person taking a minimum wage job would earn an annual income of $15,080. A married couple would...

In New York City, the clock is ticking on one of the many progressive legislative packages pushed through over the past few years by Governor Andrew Cuomo to appease his liberal base. Oddly named the “Victory for New York Families” bill, the law mandated that minimum wage levels in the city would have to rise to $15 per hour by the end of this year, along with various benefits including paid family leave. I suppose that certainly seems like a victory for those in low skill, low wage jobs, but that’s only if they still have a job. As...