December 7, 2022
In response to the New York City Council’s passage of a resolution in support of the Raise the Wage Act, Tal Friedan, spokesperson for the Raise Up NY coalition, issued the following statement:
“Today’s resolution is a significant sign of momentum for this campaign to deliver the long overdue wage increases New Yorkers need. With New York minimum wage rapidly eroding in the face of record price increases, a much higher minimum wage is needed to prevent New Yorkers from falling into poverty. City Council members and state legislators are hearing from their constituents every day about the need for a new minimum wage, and we look forward to working with them over the course of the budget and legislative session to answer these calls from our communities.
While it is encouraging to see elected officials and advocates ready to work hand in hand to fight for a new minimum wage at this moment, we should not have to rely on annual campaigns to ensure New Yorkers have enough money to pay for basic necessities. Our aim is to solve this problem once and for all by not just raising the minimum wage but ensuring that New York joins the eighteen other states that automatically adjust the minimum wage each year to keep up with rising costs.
Raise Up NY came together to fight for the Raise the Wage Act (S3062D/A7503C – bill numbers are subject to change pending re-introduction) introduced by Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblywoman Latoya Joyner. If passed, the legislation would catch New York’s minimum wage back up to where it would have been if it had been adjusted each year since 2019 to keep up with rising prices and worker productivity gains. That translates to raising the wage to $21.25 by 2026. After that, it would automatically adjust the wage each year so that it would not fall behind again.