By Andy Medici
The Business Journals, The Playbook, Dec 22, 2023. In multiple city business journals across the U.S.

Minimum wages are going up in dozens of cities and states on Jan. 1, in large part because of automatic increases set by legislation. ...

“Minimum wage increases are a great way to start the new year,” said Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, in a news release. “They help workers put food on the table and keep a roof overhead, and they boost the consumer spending that businesses depend on. Fairer...

FingerLakes1, Dec 22, 2023 

New York State is gearing up for a significant increase in the minimum wage, setting the new standard at $15 per hour [upstate] starting on January 1. The plan includes subsequent raises of 50 cents over the next two years and provisions to index the minimum wage to inflation annually starting in 2027. ...

Business perspectives also vary, with some owners, like Annie Adams of Second Chic in Buffalo, embracing the increase as a strategy to reduce employee turnover and boost local spending. ...

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By Erin Russell
Eater Austin, Dec 22, 2023

... Pat Sharpe, restaurant critic, Texas Monthly:

Adam Orman, the owner of L’Oca d’Oro has been a tireless advocate and eloquent spokesman for better pay for restaurant employees for years. Just recently he was quoted here in support of a bill introduced into Congress to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour. (It was last increased 14 years ago, so it’s way overdue). ...

Jane Ko, blogger, A Taste of Koko:

Adam Orman at L’Oca d’Oro is still continuing the good work with Good...

By Sean Salai
The Washington Times, December 21, 2023

Hourly workers in half of the states will see minimum wage increases in 2024 ...

Such increases are “essential” as long as the federal minimum wage remains stagnant at $7.25 an hour in the face of high inflation, said Holly Sklar, CEO of the advocacy group Business for a Fair Minimum Wage.

“Unfortunately, federal minimum wage increases have been too little, too late in recent decades and [have] fallen further and further behind the cost of living,” Ms. Sklar added. ...

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By Federico Trabucci
El Diario NY, Dec 21, 2023

Los empleados en Nueva York, Long Island y Westchester están a punto de experimentar un cambio significativo en sus ingresos. Para 2024, se espera que el salario mínimo en estas áreas alcance los $16 por hora. ...

Salario mínimo 2024: perspectivas de expertos

Holly Sklar, de Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, destaca que estos aumentos son el resultado de leyes progresivas y de iniciativas electorales. A pesar de los avances, reconoce que la situación económica presenta desafíos. ...

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By Arlenys Tabare
La Opinión (Los Angeles), Dec 19, 2023

Para el próximo año se espera que al menos 25 estados en Estados Unidos perciban un ajuste en el salario mínimo, los cuales algunos entrarán en vigor a partir del 1 de enero otros en julio y a finales del 2024. ...

Para Holly Sklar, directora ejecutiva de Business For a Fair Minimum Wage, un grupo que aboga por salarios básicos más altos, los aumentos en los salarios mínimos son buenos tanto para los trabajadores como para la economía en general.

“Si bien el...

By Aimee Picchi
CBS News Money Watch, Dec. 19, 2024

Millions of workers nationwide could be in line for a pay hike next year, with half of U.S. states planning to boost their minimum wages in 2024. ...

Increasing the minimum wage is both good for workers and the overall economy, said Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a group that advocates for higher baseline wages. 

Low-wage workers who get pay hikes "boost the consumer spending that businesses depend on," she said in a statement. "While the federal minimum wage falls...

By Dan Murphy
Yonkers Times, Dec 18, 2023

On Jan. 1, New York’s minimum wage will increase to $16 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County, and $15 for the rest of the state as the first step under New York’s minimum wage raise passed earlier this year. Business owners across New York are welcoming the minimum wage increases, saying they will boost consumer spending and bolster New York businesses.

New York’s minimum wage will continue to increase by 50 cents a year for the next two years, until it reaches $17 in New...

FingerLakes1
December 17, 2023

New York State’s minimum wage is set to rise to $16 in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County, and $15 for the rest of the state on January 1, a move welcomed by business owners across the state. ...

Business leaders across the state, including Phil Andrews, president of the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, and Annie Adams, owner of Second Chic in Buffalo, have expressed support for the wage increase, highlighting its potential to boost consumer spending and improve local economies.

Business owners like Michael Lastoria...

By Adina Genn
Long Island Business News, Dec 11, 2023

Beginning Jan. 1, the minimum hourly wage on Long Island, New York City and Westchester is set to increase to $16 an hour. ...

Organizations supporting the wage increase include the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce and the New York Business for a Fair Minimum Wage Coalition.

“Small businesses thrive when the people who are our customers have more money to spend. Low wages, on the other hand, lead to high employee turnover, which is costly for businesses in recruiting and training new...

By Alexandra Rivera
Lohud/ Rockland/Westchester Journal News, Dec 11, 2023. Also in Yahoo News, AOL.com

New York's minimum wage will increase to $16 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County in January ... Many business owners across the Hudson Valley are in support of the minimum wage increases, including Jessica Galen, owner of Bloomy Cheese and Provisions in Dobbs Ferry.

She ... is a part of the New York Business for a Fair Minimum Wage Coalition, which is comprised of more than 300 businesses across the state. The group has advocated for an...

By Tamara Chuang
Colorado Sun, Dec 9, 2023

... Colorado isn’t the only state upping the minimum wage in 2024. The state’s minimum wage changes annually depending on inflation and on Jan. 1, it’s going up to $14.42 an hour. According to Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, Colorado will have the sixth highest minimum. Washington state leads the states with $16.28. >> More

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By Christopher Rugaber
Associated Press (AP), Dec 8, 2023

U.S. employers added a healthy 199,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell, fresh signs that the economy could achieve an elusive “soft landing,” in which inflation would return to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target without causing a steep recession. Friday’s report from the Labor Department showed that the unemployment rate dropped from 3.9% to 3.7%, not far above a five-decade low of 3.4% in April. ...

Aaron Seyedian, owner of a small cleaning company based in Takoma Park, Maryland, says his business is still...

By Kelsey Butler
Bloomberg, Dec 7, 2023

... This week, when I wrote about minimum wage increases taking effect across the US on Jan. 1, my LinkedIn comments were flooded with readers saying that the changes would be bad for business owners and drive up prices for consumers. ... It turns out that there are business owners — including executives at Patagonia Inc. and Unilever Plc’s Ben & Jerry's — that actually think higher wages are good business.

Aaron Seyedian is one of them. In 2017, after a career as a consultant, including at the...

By Jeanne Sahadi
CNN, Dec 6, 2023

At the start of the new year, anyone working a minimum wage job will be paid more in 22 states ...

The push for non-poverty wages

The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009. And 20 states – including Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Alabama and Mississippi – still adhere to it. The push to raise it has gone on for years because minimum wage workers stuck at $7.25 have lost substantial buying power.

Had it just been adjusted for inflation since 2009, it would be $10.33 today. But advocates for a higher minimum wage, including Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, would rather ...