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“We applaud Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assemblyman Keith Wright for their leadership in proposing legislation that will raise the minimum wage by $1.25, taking it from $7.25 to $8.50 by 2013, and indexing that wage level to inflation. If enacted, the increase would raise the wages of 1.2 million hard working New Yorkers.

This recession has made it much harder for workers to stretch a dollar and provide for their families. There hasn’t been a substantial increase in the minimum wage since it rose by 10 cents in July 2009, when an increase in the federal minimum wage took effect.

While a step in the right direction, the proposed increase for New Yorkers is still quite modest. A full-time worker receiving $8.50 an hour will earn $17,700 a year, which is below the federal poverty line for a family of three. New York’s minimum wage should be raised to a level above that three-person federal poverty threshold. We will strongly support legislation that addresses the gap in the current bill by increasing the $1.25 hike, and continuing to index to inflation, if such a bill is introduced.

The Speaker’s proposal begins to address the overarching issues of economic fairness and income inequality. It is a positive move toward ensuring that all workers receive fair wages and decent benefits.

We look forward to working together with labor unions, community groups and elected officials to enact minimum wage legislation that will help the many New Yorkers who work hard and are just not paid enough to make ends meet.”

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With over 350,000 members in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida and Washington D.C., 1199 SEIU is the largest and fastest growing healthcare union in the country. Our mission is to achieve affordable, high quality healthcare for all.

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