Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - With inflation soaring, there's a proposal to link the New York State minimum wage to the rate of inflation. While one political watcher says it will happen, one group that could be affected says it could support the measure, provided it gets protections in the event of an economic downturn.
"The minimum wage is going to go up. The only question is how much and how soon," says Jack O'Donnell of O'Donnell and Associates. O'Donnell says as the inflation rises, the plan would see we similar rises in the minimum wage, which would be great for workers, but tough for the businesses that employ them.
O'Donnell says there's a little more to this. "One is that the Assembly, and specifically the Senate, proposed not just indexing it, but having a significant raise prior to that indexing. One legislator has called for the minimum wage to reach $21.50 very soon, and then be indexed beyond that," says O'Donnell.
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O'Donnell says he's heard from a lot of businesses who say the raise is too high. "A lot of them are saying that the wage market and the tight job market has meant that wages are going up anyway, and to let the market control it, that they're willing to pay more, but they're paying more for workers who have skill sets or are willing to commit to certain times," notes O'Donnell. He adds the governor's proposal also includes some off ramps. "If there's an economic downturn, that it wouldn't automatically go up. The legislative proposals don't include those off ramps, in case bad economic times come back," explains O'Donnell.
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Kent Sopris of the New York Association of Convenience Stores says he's looking for some answers regarding the minimum wage hike proposal. "What we need to know is, if certain economic trends fall backwards, will there be protections for businesses," wonders Sopris.
Sopris says because of the COVID pandemic and the historic inflation, the costs go up to run businesses exponentially. "We're able to move our prices of certain items up and down as the economy provides. But, if we're locked into a certain percentage increase in labor, that's going to be hard to really accomplish, if there are bad economic indicators," says Sopris.
Sopris says he doesn't necessarily object to a minimum wage increase. "We're kind of sitting here on the sideline waiting to see some more details before we weigh in. I think as long as there's certain protections in place for small business owners during economic downturns," adds Sopris.
O'Donnell projects this will pass with the budget, which is due Saturday.