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May 28, 2008

Senate panel OKs R.I. minimum wage increases

PROVIDENCE -- A bill aimed at raising the minimum wage paid thousands of Rhode Island workers won the overwhelming support of the Senate Labor Committee this afternoon, and is now headed to the full Senate for a vote.

The bill sponsored by Sen. Leonidas Raptakis, D-Coventry, calls for automatic annual increases of up to 3 percent, in keeping with inflation as measured by the consumer price index for the Northeast.

Rhode Island pays among the highest minimum wages in the nation, at $7.40 an hour. While the bill does not specify a wage hike, Robert Langlais, the state’s assistant director for labor market information, has estimated the bill would raise the minimum wage to $7.53 an hour on Jan. 1, 2009.

While there is no direct count of minimum wage workers in Rhode island, Langlais said federal Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates indicate there were 27,000 workers here making between $7 and $7.99 an hour in 2006, out of 321,000 workers statewide.

While there was no debate today, and only one nay vote from Sen. David Bates, R-Barrington, the debate between organized labor and lobbyists for the small business industry played out at a hearing in early April. The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce is not opposing the bill this time around, but sent word that it “does not support automatic COLAs and believes the issue should be debated on its merits on annual basis.’’

A spokesman for Governor Carcieri issued this statement: “Generally speaking, Governor Carcieri is concerned about any bill that will add to the cost of doing business in Rhode Island. As the state and the nation grapple with an economic slowdown combined with skyrocketing energy prices, the governor believes we should be making Rhode Island more, not less, business-friendly.

“However, the governor believes that Rhode Island’s business community needs to weigh in with their support or opposition to this legislation. If Rhode Island businesses oppose this bill, they need to make their voices heard at the State House,’’ spokesman Jeff Neal said.

-- Katherine Gregg of the Journal State House Bureau, with projo.com reports

In Connecticut, Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, yesterday vetoed legislation that would have raised that state’s minimum wage from $7.65 to $8 beginning Jan. 1, 2009, and to $8.25 starting Jan. 1, 2010, according to a news release.

Carcieri let one minimum wage hike take effect without his signature early in his tenure as governor, and vetoed another.

In his 2005 veto message, he said: “This will do nothing but exact another cost on Rhode Island businesses, especially small businesses, making our state even less competitive with our regional neighbors.’’

Lawmakers did not try to override his veto that year, which would have required bringing the General Assembly back into special session to face other thornier issues for them including a drive to unionize home-based child care workers.

In 2006, Carcieri warned of another likely veto as a two-step increase in the minimum hike moved through the General Assembly, but then backed off acknowledging the Democrats likely had the election-year votes to pass it. That bill raised the state’s minimum wage from $6.75 to $7.10 an hour on March 1, 2006, and to $7.40 on Jan. 1, 2007.

Carcieri’s turnaround had nothing to do with policy. He knew there were not enough votes in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly to sustain his veto. "The governor continues to believe that this legislation will undermine his efforts to grow Rhode Island jobs," Carcieri spokesman Neal said at the time. "But after a year of debate, passage of this legislation is now inevitable and the governor believes it is time to move on to other important business."

Posted by Mike McKinney at 4:34 PM | Permalink

Comments

If the Governor had his way RI workers would be making 2.00 and hour. He is a business man and he must support his cronies in the business world.

Steve | May 28, 2008 9:11 PM link

I'd like to see Mr. Bates from Barrington, the one nay voter, to live on $7.53 an hour, even for a week. I'm sure he couldn't do it, yet he thinks others should make just $7.40 an hour. Wake up, this person would have to work 1.15 hours just to put 2 gallons of gasoline in the car. Oh wait, they can't afford a car on $7.40 an hour.

alice | May 29, 2008 4:52 AM link

May 28, 2008

Senate panel OKs R.I. minimum wage increases

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