Minnesota Minimum Wage Veto Triggers Response From Worker Advocates

Last week, Governor Tim Pawlent vetoed legislation approved by both houses of the Minnesota Legislature that would have increased the state minimum wage from the current $6.15 per hour to $7.75 per hour in 2009. The state law would have provided a raise beyond federal minimum wage $7.25 next year.

More than 300,000 Minnesota jobs was paid less than Pawlenty vetoed $7.75. Kris Jacobs, director of the statewide JOBS NOW Coalition, said, "I don't think a total of $8 a week above the federal minimum wage for the rest of this year or $13 a week over the next year is too much to ask. Seven out of 10 Minnesotans agree. Twenty-eight states have higher minimum wages than Minnesota."

He also said a minimum wage increase is especially important for workers outside the Twin Cities metro area: although Greater Minnesota workers hold just 41 percent of the state's jobs, they hold 56 percent of the jobs that pay less than $7.75 per hour.

In a statement, the members of the coalition present their response to the veto that the Governor said the wage was too high, so they compromised by lowering the amount in both the first and second years. The Governor said he wanted to keep a sub-minimum wage for younger workers. They compromised by putting it back in the bill. The Governor argued that most restaurant servers earn more than the minimum wage, so they should be excluded from the increase.

"If only that were true," said Jacobs. "According to the Governor's own Department of Employment and Economic Development, the state median wage for servers (including tips) is $7.69 per hour. That's why a tip penalty for servers was the one thing we could not agree on."