Minimum Wage

With Assembly Approving Minimum Wage Hike Today, Kennedy Urges Senate GOP Coalition to Allow the Legislation to Come to a Vote. 

Kennedy: We Have the Votes to Raise the Minimum Wage. The Only Barrier Standing Between Working Families and Higher Wages is the Senate GOP Leadership.

Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson (D) joined with members of the Senate Democratic Conference to call for immediate action to raise the New York State minimum wage and index future increases to the rate of inflation.

State Senator Cecilia Tkaczyk joined her colleagues to call for an increase to the  New York State minimum wage and index future increases to the rate of inflation. She said the increase would be especially beneficial to women with small children and have an overall positive effect on the economy.

 “More than 55 percent  of the workers in New York State receiving minimum wage are women, many of them with children,” Tkaczyk said. “Even those who can work 40 or more hours each week are living below the federal poverty level and are struggling to provide their families with decent housing, clothing and food.”

Tkaczyk said raising the wage would also have an overall economic benefit:

ALBANY, N.Y. – As part of his continuing effort to push New York's minimum towards a true living wage, Sen. O'Brien and the 26 other members of the Democratic stood together at the Capitol today to call for an increase. The full text of Sen. O'Brien's comments follows:

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"Thank you all so much for being here as we discuss raising the minimum wage. I'm Sen. Ted O'Brien, representing parts of Monroe and Ontario counties. My district is a district with significant numbers of low wage earners.

The NYS Department of Financial Services (DFS) is setting new rules to speed the processing of insurance claims in areas affected by Storm Sandy. The new regulation reduces the amount of time an insurer can delay its decision on a claim, and requires insurers to report to the Department on how many claims it is delaying and the reasons for the delays.

FLUSHING, NY – State Senator Toby Stavisky today joined with members of the Senate Democratic Conference to call for immediate action to raise the New York State minimum wage and index future increases to the rate of inflation.

Citing overwhelming support and outsize need for higher wages in communities of color, lawmakers seek hike to $8.75, plus indexing to inflation