Lobbyists opposing a minimum wage hike in New York say the quiet part out loud behind closed doors.
Twenty dollar bills being counted. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
The
corporate lobbying group fighting a New York state effort to raise the
minimum wage has publicly argued that an increase will throw more than a
hundred thousand people out of work. But behind closed doors last week,
the lobbying group claimed many of its members are already paying their
lowest-paid workers more than the state minimum wage.
“I think
the message that a lot of small businesses have been trying to send is
that… a lot of businesses are paying well above the minimum wage because
of the labor shortage right now,” said Ashley Ranslow, the New York
state director of the National Federation of Independent Business
(NFIB), the lobbying group hosting the call.
The real problem,
Ranslow said, is that “everyone wants a raise when the minimum wage goes
up,” which creates “a spiraling and compounding effect for small
businesses.”
It’s a remarkable admission from one of the main
corporate lobbying groups fighting the legislative effort to increase
New York’s minimum wage — and directly contradicts her organization’s
public line.
“This
is so typical — [NFIB is] ‘Chicken Little’ every time there’s a
proposal to raise the wage,” said Paul Sonn, state policy director for
the National Employment Law Project, which is backing the minimum wage
increase. “But even they know the sky isn’t falling. They’re saying the
quiet part out loud, admitting that the minimum wage is irrelevant right
now, it’s far too low, and would have to be an awful lot higher before
it actually starts to have an impact.”....