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What I’ve Been Reading This Week


A few years ago, I remember when the “Fight for $15” movement was taking off around the country.  Lo and behold, it appears that a $15/hour minimum wage is not the stopping point, which should be no surprise.  As the below article notes, New York is aggressively moving to ramp up hourly wage rates even higher.  While all the  below articles are worth a read, I called particular attention to that one.

As always, below are a couple article that caught my eye this week.


Disney World Workers Reject Latest Contract Offer

Late last week, it was announced that workers at Disney World had rejected the most recent contract offer from the company, calling on their employer to do better.  As Brooks Barnes at The New York Times writes, the unions that represent about 32,000 workers at Disney World reported their members resoundingly rejected the 5 year contract offer which would have seen workers receive a 10% raise and retroactive increased back pay.  While Disney’s offer would have increased pay for Disney World workers by about $1/hour each year, the unions are seeking $3/hour wage hike and higher yearly hikes thereafter.


North Dakota House Rejects Minimum Wage Hike

Last Friday, HB 1507 was voted down in the North Dakota House.  The legislation sought to raise the state’s hourly wage rate from $7.25/hour to $9/hour with subsequent wake hikes of $.25/hour every year thereafter.  Supporters of the bill had argued that with neighboring states offering hourly wage rates of at least $9.50/hour, a wage hike was needed in North Dakota to draw workers.  However, for the time being, this legislation has been met with enough resistance to keep a wage hike from becoming a reality in the state.


New York Governor’s Minimum Wage Hike Proposal Met With Resistance

As Keshia Clukey at Bloomberg reports, New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposal which would tie minimum wage hikes to inflation has hit some resistance.  In the Governor’s budget proposal, minimum wage hikes would be capped at 3% annually or the growth in the year over year consumer price index, whichever is less.  However, other Democrats in the state are starting to rally around SB S3062 which would increase the hourly minimum wage rate to $21.25/hour by 2027 and then index it to inflation.  (The current minimum wage rate in the state is $14.20/hour with areas around New York City seeing a $15/hour wage rate).  Will the Governor be able to rally enough support around her budget proposal?  While I do not think either the budget proposal nor SB S3062 will be the end point, I think a compromise somewhere in the middle of the two is likely.

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