Sen. Patrick: Competing measure on minimum wage is nonstarter

Posted: March 02, 2016 | Uncategorized
Sen. John Patrick, D-Rumford, speaks during a labor rally in Augusta.

Sen. John Patrick, D-Rumford, speaks during a labor rally in Augusta.

AUGUSTA — Sen. John Patrick, the lead Senate Democrat on the Legislature’s Labor, Commerce and Economic Development Committee, said Wednesday that he would oppose a cynical attempt to thwart Mainers’ effort to increase the minimum wage.

A coalition of business groups announced Wednesday their desire for the Legislature to approve a ballot initiative to compete with a citizen initiative to raise the minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2020. If approved by the Legislature, voters would have a choice between the citizen initiative, the competing measure, or “none of the above.”

“This coalition says they have an ‘alternative’ plan to raise the minimum wage, but I know from experience that their only goal is stopping the citizen initiative and keeping minimum wage workers in poverty,” said Sen. Patrick.

Last year, the Labor Committee considered seven bills to raise the current minimum wage of $7.50 per hour. The bills ranged from a modest increase to $8 per hour to a more meaningful increase that would have raised the wage incrementally to $12 per hour by 2019.

“These groups claim to now support a minimum wage increase of $2.50, but that doesn’t pass the smell test,” said Sen. Patrick. “Just last year they said they couldn’t even afford a 50 cent increase. So don’t tell me they suddenly have had a change of heart and care about low-wage workers. This competing measure has one goal and one goal only: To split the vote and keep workers at poverty wages.”

BACKGROUND — The following bills considered last year would have raised the current minimum wage of $7.50:

  • LD 92, which would have raised the minimum wage to $8 per hour in 2015.
  • LD 52, which would have raised the minimum wage to $9.50 per hour in 2015.
  • LD 77, which would have raised the minimum wage to $9.75 per hour in 2015.
  • LD 36, which would have raised the minimum wage to $10 by 2016.
  • LD 487, which would have raised the minimum wage to $10 by 2018.
  • LD 72, which would have raised the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour in 2015.
  • LD 843, which would have raised the minimum wage to $12 by 2019.

Each of those bills was opposed by the New England Convenience Store Association, the NFIB, the Maine Grocers and Food Producers Association, the Maine Restaurant Association and Maine Innkeeper’s Association, the Retail Association of Maine and Gov. Paul LePage’s departments of Labor and Economic and Community Development.

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