$10.10 Minimum Wage Bill Passes in the Maryland General Assembly

Monday, April 7, 2014

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Labor leaders and their allies hailed Monday’s passage of the $10.10 minimum wage by the Maryland General Assembly. “Raising Maryland’s minimum wage is a huge win for the hundreds of thousands of workers across the state who will get a raise, as well as the businesses and communities that will experience increased economic activity because of higher wages,” said Ricarra Jones, chair of Raise Maryland, a diverse coalition of community, labor, immigrant, civil rights and faith organizations.

“Maryland today, the U.S. Congress next!” added Metro Washington Council president Jos Williams. The bill – which is expected to be quickly signed by Gov. Martin O’Malley -- will raise the wage from the current $7.25 an hour to $8.00 in January 1, 2015, and rise again to $8.25 on July 1, 2015. Workers will get subsequent raises to $8.75 on July 1, 2016 and $9.25 on July 1, 2017. The full-phase in to $10.10 will take place on July 1, 2018 and will put Maryland among the highest minimum wage rates in the country and mirrors the current federal proposal proposed by President Barack Obama.

At the same time, Williams noted that “We’re extremely disappointed that the phase-in date was moved back two years, that we lost indexing the minimum wage to the cost of living and that wages for tipped workers were frozen by the House at $3.63 per hour at the behest of the restaurant industry.”

However, “This win demonstrates Maryland Working Families’ ability to form effective coalitions to move elected officials and grassroots to make progressive change,” said Charly Carter, executive director of Maryland Working Families. “We see passage of a $10.10 minimum wage as an important first win but we're not stopping here. We need to raise wages for tipped workers, win paid sick days, fight for retirement security for all and work to get big money out of politics so ordinary working people can have an equal voice in the decisions that affect us all.”

 

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