Advocates for increasing the minimum wage in Connecticut from $10.10 per hour up to $15 per hour think this year they have momentum because of the Democrats’ increased majorities in the Connecticut House and Senate.
“It’s time to make a real change,” said Sen. Julie Kushner, (D – Danbury), at a press conference calling for an increase.
She said Connecticut now needs to join its nearby states with a higher rate.
“Connecticut badly lags behind our neighbors: Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont all have higher minimum wages,” she said.
An increase in the minimum wage is favored by the top Democrats in both the House and Senate, and it was a campaign promise by Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont. He even mentioned the issue in his first State of the State Address in January.
Lamont and General Assembly Democrats are in line when it comes to the dollar figure, but they have a slight difference when it comes to how fast the rate should be raised.
Lamont favors reaching $15 per hour by 2023, while Democrats in the legislature prefer to go in steps: $12 in 2020, $13.50 in 2021, and $15 by 2022.
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“If you put in an honest day’s work, you should be paid an honest wage. We need to give the workers in Connecticut what they deserve,” said Rep. Robyn Porter, (D – New Haven), one of the sponsors of the bill.
Opposition is easy to find to the proposal. Many in the business community fear for the ripple effects and unintended consequences of increasing the minimum wage.
“It places a huge financial burden on the working middle-class parents of our state. This hits home at every district in our state,” said Ken Judson who owns a childcare facility in Hamden.
He says the increased cost to his business will leave his customers to cover the difference and he’s not sure many of them could sustain such a price hike.
"I have a single divorced mother that makes $45,000 a year. She's not eligible for the Care for Kids program and we're going to ask her to pay $4,000 more? She doesn't have the money. I have another family, I have three kids in program, two young infants and a 3-year-old. We're going ask that couple to pay $12,000 more per year. Where's the money going to come from?"
