Isn't the NYS minimum wage increase annoying?

[tyrantblade3500]

Anybody that live in NYS knows we have had this minimum wage increase going on every year for a few years now, and its set to keep happening in January every year until 2021 when it's supposed to go to $15.00 an hour.

I think it's simply a case of making a higher wage, but the higher number is made to be meaningless because cost of everything keeps going up too.

More specifically the company I work at seems to have abandoned giving raises (it was only 3% once a year, but it was something) because of this and I'm pretty much done working there; it seems to not matter to them if somebody does basically nothing all day or does half the jobs on one production line (I'm in the latter group, doing half the jobs to make those cold compress bags; we make close to 4K+ Of those things in one shift).

And this whole week I will get to be Line Leader (basically I will have to tell people what I want them to do, make sure everything is done right, plus fill out all the paperwork; all while I do my usual workload); I tend to only fill in occasionally which I don't mind; but something to the effect of a family emergency happened, so the usual line leader won't be at work the rest of the week.

I'm just tough-ing it out a bit longer as I  have a family vacation planned in a few months

[Crimson_Wolf]

The whole minimum wage increase is a joke.  Look at all the states and cities that implemented it and you have hours and wages cut.  Along those are benefits and of course increase in prices.  If you look at all the minimum wage jobs in the past and you'll see that none of them reach $10 plus in hourly wages with inflation calculated in.  People have to realize that minimum wage jobs are for people with minimum skills.

 

[tyrantblade3500]

 

The whole minimum wage increase is a joke.  Look at all the states and cities that implemented it and you have hours and wages cut.  Along those are benefits and of course increase in prices.  If you look at all the minimum wage jobs in the past and you'll see that none of them reach $10 plus in hourly wages with inflation calculated in.  People have to realize that minimum wage jobs are for people with minimum skills.

 

Like fast food.

Any decent factory would pay a couple dollars above minimum wage; but all the factories in my town are cheap and only pay minimum or not much above. 

The pay is what I have the most problem with, especially since I'm one of their most reliable workers and I do literally half the work on one production line, and fill in as line leader.

Definitely not minimum effort and that's why I won't keep working there much longer.

[barnburner]

Dont worry, our Dear Leader will find a way to end any and all minimum wage law thingies and require maximum wage all across the board to please his friends who are leaders in the business world.

[Elfy]

Interestingly, these minimum wage gains mentioned by OP seem only to mean that your minimum wage becomes a similar one that we have here. I won't get into a political or economics argument because I don't think I or anyone else here know enough to really create both sides of the argument.

What I will say is that a lot of the complaints is less to do with minimum wage rises and more to do with your employers being assholes. Raises in minimum wage don't seem like a good reason to cancel usual employee raises and asking you to do a lot of work without reward.

[Bettypooh]

Minimum wage laws don't do a lot of good. Those inclined to run 'sweatshops' will keep doing it, using fewer workers and demanding more from them or by using loopholes such as part-time personnel or piece-work to get around the laws And the truth of the matter is that there are some jobs which need to be done but are  not worth paying minimum wage for. Most minimum-wage jobs are for starting a career with, not something meant to retain someone long-term. It's what you do to learn good work ethics, learn how to deal with the workplace socially, then move on to something better when you can. When the minimum is set higher than the market will tolerate, a company is forced to raise prices leaving you right back where you started and just as poor as ever with only the government and financial outfits benefiting because they work on a percentage and now they are getting more money out of the deal

Bettypooh

[BabyJune]

What people fail to realize is that when wages go up, so do prices. So now the people earning minimum wage who were struggling to meet their expenses, now have to PAY MORE to offset the salary increases--thus eating up any increase they received. Plus they now pay more taxes on that money.

[Diapered Jason]

Well, what happened in Seattle was a drop in hiring as the minimum wage was increased, but it was difficult to actually see a price increase in good solds there. It is impossible for businesses to pass the minimum wage increase completely on to the customer since they still have to remain competitive, therefore they find offsets elsewhere. I support higher minimum wages in high cost living areas when unemployment is low like it is now. For example, a $15 minimum wage is probably not good enough in NYC, but could be too high in rural areas within the state. I would set minimum wage by county, not necessarily by state.

[Diapered Jason]

 

Minimum wage laws don't do a lot of good. Those inclined to run 'sweatshops' will keep doing it, using fewer workers and demanding more from them or by using loopholes such as part-time personnel or piece-work to get around the laws And the truth of the matter is that there are some jobs which need to be done but are  not worth paying minimum wage for. Most minimum-wage jobs are for starting a career with, not something meant to retain someone long-term. It's what you do to learn good work ethics, learn how to deal with the workplace socially, then move on to something better when you can. When the minimum is set higher than the market will tolerate, a company is forced to raise prices leaving you right back where you started and just as poor as ever with only the government and financial outfits benefiting because they work on a percentage and now they are getting more money out of the deal

Bettypooh

This isn't the case at all. You need to review why minimum wage laws we're made in the first place, what entry level career positions actually pay, and read the latest econmoic reports on minimum wage increases in Western US cities. Stop going with your gut and actually read the facts out there on the effect of minimum wage increases.

[Bettypooh]

I'm quite aware of this subject because where I live these laws were put into effect a year before I started working, and my first jobs paid MW. Back then, the main industry here was textiles and most of these companies historically paid wages near that level. All the companies collaborated to keep wages that low. Some positions paid less, and the companies used the excuse that they couldn't give raises because of their now-increased costs. It was a BS excuse but there was nothing anyone could do about it. Over the next ten years that industry crumbled and the majority of the remaining jobs here were MW, at least when you started, with only select jobs paying much better. Jobs were scarce but put there if you really wanted to find them. In time we got more industries moving into the area and now we're booming. Minimum wage has went from $2.35 to $7.25 and things are pretty much the same for those working at MW level as they always have been. Though the numbers have increased, their lives and financial abilities are no better than when I started.

Where the big difference lies is that the bigger numbers mean more money gone in taxes which are taken as a percentage- the government and banks profit from the inflation creep while the minimum wage workers do not. The economic boom here means that there are plenty of jobs that pay a lot more now, and in that rent prices have escalated so that now its almost impossible for a MW worker to live only on their own income. Most folks at that level need to have multiple incomes in the household here (spouse/family working or roommates), whereas when I began you could make it on your own if just barely. That's the true baseline you need to be looking at- how well off those working at that level are compared to past times with lower minimums. I see no improvement there over the 40+ years I've been watching this I still hold my position on this. The numbers may look good but there's more to it than numbers. Something must change for things to get better and incrementally raising the MW hasn't caused that change so it's time we abandon the approach and find ways which will work instead

Bettypooh

 

[Diapered Jason]

I hear what you are saying and it is true, except a minimum wage increase is designed to adjust for inflation, not get you ahead of it. You need to get a pay raise for that. The decline of industry in certain regions of the country is a topic left best for another thread.

[LittleAmytheil]

My major issues isn't particularly with minimum wage per say, but cost of living vs average local wages.  I'll use some numbers from my area (Metro NY/NJ area, rural suburb) for examples where I hold issue.

 

I have held a job for 10 years.  I currently earn $16 an hour.  After taxes, I take home approximately $500 per week.  Basic math of 4.5 weeks per month, approximately $2,250 per month.
Rent costs (on average, for a 1 bedroom apartment in the area) $1200 per month.  Adding on utilities such as electric, internet, and water, the range could be approximately $1,400 per month.
Food and gas expenses for one person per week (again, using myself) is approximately $75 per week, or $337.5 a month.
Medication/medical expenses for me are very high, so I'll lowball and say...$25 a month.  Shampoo, soap, medication, vitamins, etc. That clocks up to $112.5 a month.

Lets do more math.  That puts my earnings at $2,250, and expenses at $1850 per month.  At the end of it all, $400 gets to be put aside for savings, credit cards, retirement, and both frivolous and emergency expenses.  Over time, that's not a bad number to be squirreling away.  But perhaps you need an oil change.  You blew a tire, the bottom of your shoe tore off, a branch fell through your roof.  Life comes with many unexpected expenditures (A branch did fall through our roof in our house this past storm).  Suddenly, that $400 isn't looking so good.

For fun, my boyfriend earns $9 an hour.  I'll save the giant blurb of math and just use the facts that he takes home approximately $1,125 per 40-hour workweek after taxes.  If he lived alone, he wouldn't even be able to pay rent on a 1 bedroom apartment.  The apartment is blocks away from where he works, in the same state, same township, so how is this sustainable?  I will always feel bad for people I know that carry large debts, especially college debts.  I hold approximately 10k in home construction loans, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Those with college debt in the tens or hundreds may never dig out.