It didn't make the Ithaca Journal, but the New York State Senate voted 50-8 yesterday to override Governor Pataki's veto and raise the minimum wage in New York. According to the Elmira Star-Gazette:
Under the measure, minimum wage increases from $5.15 per hour to $6 per hour on Jan. 1. It goes to $6.75 in January 2006 and $7.15 in January 2007.
Additionally, workers who rely on tips would have seen their minimum wage go up. Currently $3.30 per hour, the rate would hit $3.85 in 2005, $4.35 in 2006 and $4.60 in 2007. The wage increase would impact about 700,000 families.
Dryden's state senator, Senator Seward, voted against the measure, as he had when it originally came up in the Senate. Given his remarks at the Town Hall he held in Dryden in October, I can't say it's a surprise.
Update: The New York Times (registration required, time-limited) has a more in-depth report on the subject.
Posted by simonstl at December 7, 2004 08:57 AM