NEW YORK — A group of business leaders in New York say an attempt to raise the minimum wage for fast food workers to $15 an hour could have a chilling effect on jobs.
The Business Council of New York released a statement this week opposing Governor Andrew Cuomo’s minimum wage plan. They say the wage hike would be a hit to small businesses and could reduce the state’s competitiveness.
Business Council spokesman Zack Hutchins says a higher wage could also price out entry level jobs.
“If you make those positions $15 an hour, it’s going to really be difficult for employers to justify hiring someone with little to no work experience,” he said. “If all this is about making sure that people who are economically impoverished are lifted out of poverty, you really run the risk of not achieving that goal.”
Hutchins says another wage hike is unnecessary.
“We’re still in the middle of a three-step minimum wage increase, where the minimum wage will go from $8.75 to $9 an hour,” he said. “So it’s not like we haven’t acted on the minimum wage. In a few months we’ll be increasing it again, regardless of whether this latest push gets any legislative action.”
Supporters argue the wage hike would boost the economy by giving low-wage workers more spending power.
