$10.10 Minimum Wage Bill Passes in the Maryland General Assembly
Monday, April 7, 2014
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Labor leaders and their allies hailed Monday’s passage of the
$10.10 minimum wage by the Maryland General Assembly. “Raising Maryland’s
minimum wage is a huge win for the hundreds of thousands of workers across the
state who will get a raise, as well as the businesses and communities that will
experience increased economic activity because of higher wages,” said Ricarra
Jones, chair of Raise Maryland, a diverse coalition of community, labor,
immigrant, civil rights and faith organizations.
“Maryland today, the
U.S. Congress
next!” added Metro Washington Council president Jos Williams. The bill –
which
is expected to be quickly signed by Gov. Martin O’Malley -- will raise the
wage
from the current $7.25 an hour to $8.00 in January 1, 2015, and rise again to
$8.25 on July 1, 2015. Workers will get subsequent raises to $8.75 on July 1,
2016 and $9.25 on July 1, 2017. The full-phase in to $10.10 will take place on
July 1, 2018 and will put Maryland among the highest minimum wage rates in the
country and mirrors the current federal proposal proposed by President Barack
Obama.
At the same time, Williams noted that “We’re extremely
disappointed that
the phase-in date was moved back two years, that we
lost indexing the minimum wage to the cost of living and that wages for tipped
workers were frozen by the House at $3.63 per hour at the behest of the
restaurant
industry.”
However, “This win demonstrates Maryland Working
Families’
ability to form effective coalitions to move elected officials and grassroots
to make progressive change,” said Charly Carter, executive director of
Maryland
Working Families. “We see passage of a $10.10 minimum wage as an important
first win but we're not stopping here. We need to raise wages for tipped
workers, win paid sick days, fight for retirement security for all and work to
get big money out of politics so ordinary working people can have an equal
voice in the decisions that affect us all.”